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HISTORY 



OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 



CONQUEST OF CANADA 



IN 17 7 6, 



FROM THE DEATH OF MONTGOMERY TO THE RETREAT OF THE 
BRITISH ARMY UNDER SIR GUY CARLETON. 



CHARLES HENRY JONES, 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PORTER & COATES 

1882. 



DEC 9 186, 
mJ2hXi 



Hr^ 



1^ 






jq 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by 

Charles Heney Jones, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington- 



Printed ty 

Allen, Lane d Sooit, 

Philadel^ihia. 



TO THE MEMORY 
OP MY GREAT-GEANDFATHER, 

LIEUT. -COL. JONATHAN JONES, 

AND HIS COMPANIONS IN ARMS, 

I DEDICATE THESE PAGES, 

IN WHICH 

THEIR TRIALS, SUFFERINGS, AND PATRIOTIC 

SERVICES IN THE CAUSE 

OF THE 

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ARE RECORDED. 



PEEFAOE. 



Of the military movements on the Northern frontier during 
the Revolution, much has been written about the brilliant cam- 
paign of Montgomery in 1775, which terminated in his untimely 
death on the last day of that year. Much has also been written 
about the disastrous campaign of Burgoyne in 1777. The same 
attention has not been paid to the events of the intervening year 
of 1776, which, though less striking in their effects, were of the 
greatest importance to the cause. There is not anywhere, so far 
as I am aware, any detailed account of that long and severe 
campaign. Its salient features have been noticed by all historians 
in passing, and some of them have dwelt upon it with more or 
less minuteness, but I have nowhere been able to find a connected, 
reliable, and circumstantial narration of all its interesting and 
often distressing events. Such a history I have endeavored to 
give in the following pages. Another object I had in their prep- 
aration was to make a record of the services of the troops of 
Pennsylvania, whose conduct always contrasted favorably with 
that of their companions in arms from the other Colonies, and 
yet whose achievements have never received that recognition 
which they deserve. 

It was a campaign in which the Pennsylvanians of that day 
were deeply and anxiously interested. Not less than two 
thousand of their fellow-citizens were actively engaged in it, 
and the friends and relatives they left behind them formed a 
large and influential part of the community. It should not, 
therefore, fail to possess interest for their descendants of the 
present generation. 

My interest in the details of this campaign was first awakened 
by an examination of the materials connected with the military 

(V) 



VI PREFACE. 




services of my ancestor, Colonel Jonathan Jones, who passed 
through it from the beginning to the end. He was of Welsh 

extraction, his father, David Jones, 
having emigrated from Merioneth- 
shire, in Wales, in 1721, and settled 
upon the Welsh reservation at Rad- 
nor, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, 
where that clannish people, to use their own language, " desired 
to be by themselves, for no other end or purpose but that they 
might live together as a civil society, to endeavor to decide all 
controversies and debates amongst themselves in a Gospel order, 
and not to entangle themselves with laws in an unknown tongue, 
as also to preserve their language that they might ever keep cor- 
respondence with their friends in the land of their nativity." 

David Jones, with many of his countrymen, removed from 
Radnor in 1730 to the valley of the Conestoga, in Caernarvon 
township, Lancaster county, where he became an extensive land- 
owner and iron-master, and where there are old mines which 
still bear his name. Here his three sons— John, Jonathan, and 
Caleb— were born. John was a member of the Committee of 
Safety of Berks county, in 1774, and a major in Grubb's battal- 
ion of militia. Caleb was a justice of the peace. 

Jonathan Jones was born in 1738. He was appointed a cap- 
tain in the regular Continental army October 25th, 1775, was 
promoted to the rank of major, after active service in Canada, 
October 25th, 1776, and to lieutenant-colonel of his regiment,' 
which had become the Second under the new arrangement, 
March 12th, 1777. His constitution was so shattered by the 
hardships and exposure of the campaign against Canada, that 
he was obliged to return home to recruit his health in the winter 
of 1776-77. Having partially recovered, he rejoined his regi- 
ment in the spring of 1777, the command of which devolved 
upon him after the resignation of Colonel James Irvine, June 
1st, 1777. Two companies of the regiment were then on duty 
in Philadelphia, and the remainder were guarding the upper 
ferries of the Delaware. Increasing ill health, however, obliged 
hnn to resign his commission in the latter part of July. In 



PEEFACE. VU 

December, 1778, he was appointed by the Assembly of Penn- 
sylvania a commissioner under the test laws, and he was a 
member of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, from Berks 
county, which sat in Philadelphia from October, 1779, to Octo- 
ber, 1780. His health continued steadily to decline, and he was 
shortly afterwards stricken with paralysis, of which he died, 
after a lingering illness, on the 26th of September, 1782, at the 
early age of forty-four. He was buried in Bangor church-yard, 
at Churchtown, of which church his family had been wardens 
and vestrymen from its earliest foundation. 

Philadelphia, November, 1881. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Page 
The News from Lexington and Concord — The Uprising throughout the 
Colonies — Mass-meeting at the State House, Philadelphia — Organiza- 
tion of Associators — Jonathan Jones' Company — The Eev. Thomas 
Barton and Bangor Church — Initiatory steps for Resistance to Great 
Britain — Major Philip Skene — Organization of the Regular Army — 
The Six Pennsylvania Regiments — William Irvine — William Allen — 
The Captains of the First Pennsylvania Regiment — Col. John Bull — 
Col. John Philip De Haas — Lt. Col. James Irvine — Major Anthony 
James Morris — The British Barracks at Philadelphia — Mounting 
Guard at the State House and along the Wharves — The Uniforms of 
the Pennsylvania Troops — Arrival of Martha Washington at Phila- 
delphia — Lord Dunmore's Movements in Virginia — Philadelphia in 
the Winter of 1775-6 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Solicitude of Congress for affairs in Canada — Schuyler calls for Rein- 
forcements — Congress orders the First Pennsylvania and Second New 
Jersey Regiments to Canada — William Maxwell — Reinforcements from 
the Eastern Colonies — March of Jonathan Jones' Company for Canada 
— Their stay in Albany — Arrival of Sir Henry Clinton at New York — 
Mutiny at Albany — Traversing the Frozen Lakes — Distressing Con- 
dition of the Army before Quebec — Small-pox among the Troops — 
A Futile Attempt by Mr. Beaujeu to Relieve the Garrison — Erection of 
Batteries, and Opening Fire upon the Town — Arrival of General Woos- 
ter at Quebec — Departure of Arnold 16 

CHAPTER III. 

Congress sends a Committee to Canada — Their Journey Thither — Return 
of Dr. Franklin and Rev. John Carroll — The Supervision of the North- 
ern Army — General Charles Lee ordered to take Command of the 
Army in Canada — The Order Revoked, and General John Thomas sent 

(ix) 



X CONTENTS. 

Page 
in his stead— Further Keinforcements for the Army in Canada — Cap- 
tain Ebenezer Stevens— Colonel John Patterson— The Change of Feel- 
ing on the part of the Canadians towards the American Cause — Arrival 
of General Thomas at Quebec — Condition of Affairs there — An Unsuc- 
cessful Attempt to send a Fire-ship into the Enemy's Shipping— A 
Council of "War Kesolves upon a Ketreat— Arrival of the British Ships 
Surprise, Martin, and Isis with Keinforcements — A Sortie by Sir Guy 
Carleton — Precipitate Ketreat of the Americans— Aaron Burr — Kecov- 
ery of Valuable Papers by Captain Jonathan Jones — Merciful Con- 
duct of General Carleton— A Murder in Captain Jones' Company — 
The Americans endeavor to make a stand at Deschambault — A Coun- 
cil of War determines to continue the Ketreat to Sorel — A Skirmish 
below Deschambault — Mr. Acklam Bonfield — The Retreating Ameri- 
• cans reach the Mouth of the Sorel — Dr. Senter establishes a Hospital 
at Montreal — Deplorable Condition of the Troops at Sorel — Death of 
General Thomas 33 

CHAPTER IV. 

Arnold Sends Troops to the Cedars — Captain Forster's Party Attempts to 
Dislodge Them — Colonel Bedel abandons his Post — Major Henry 
Sherburne sets out with Reinforcements — Delays in his March — Dis- 
graceful Surrender by Major Butterfield — The Conduct of Bedel and 
Butterfield Condemned by Washington — They are Court-martialed and 
Dismissed the Service — Disastrous Defeat of Sherburne's Party — Bar- 
barous Treatment of the Prisoners — The Loss on botli Sides — Indigna- 
tion throughout the Colonies at the Ill-treatment of the Prisoners — 
Arnold sets out to their Relief — The Commissioners of Congress send 
the First Pennsylvania Regiment to Reinforce Arnold — They purchase 
thirty loaves of bread for them in Montreal — Forster, advised of their 
approach, Retreats — The Pursuit — Arnold demands a Surrender of 
the Prisoners — A Council of War decides against a Surprise — An Ex- 
change of Prisoners and an Armistice agreed upon — Retreat of Fors- 
ter's Party above the Cedars 54 

CHAPTER V. 

An Attempt to recover the lost ground down the St. Lawrence— Col. St. 
Clair is sent against Three Rivers— Waiting impatiently for the First 
Pennsylvania Regiment— General Wooster Relieved— General Sulli- 
van Assumes Command of the Army— He sends General Thompson 
with additional Troops to join St. Clair— Captains Jonathan Jones and 
Benjamin Davis join the force under General Thompson with their 
Companies— Arrival of Resolutions of Congress— Additional Rein- 
forcements of Militia and Indians ordered by Congress— The Battle of 
Three Rivers §6 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTEE VI. 

Page 

Sullivan's Force after the Battle of Three Elvers — Condition of the 

Troops — Desertions — Fortifying the Post at Sorel — The Eetreat — 

The Eetreating Americans reach Chamblee — Brunswick and Hessian 

Troops — George III. contracts for them -with the German Princes — 

Departure of the First Detachment for Quebec, under Eiedesel — 

Arrival of General Burgoyne with British Eeinforcements — The 

British Army which Ascended the St. Lawrence — Pursuit of the 

Americans up the Sorel Eiver — The Americans Burn Chamblee, and 

continue their Eetreat to St. John's — The Sick are sent to Isle aux 

Noix — Arnold's Eetreat from Montreal — The Americans Eetreat to 

Isle aux Noix, and the British occupy St. John's — Congress and 

Washington reconciled to the situation — Congress inquires into the 

causes of the disasters in Canada 80 

CHAPTEE VII. 

At Isle aux Noix — Distressing Condition of the American Troops — 
Evacuation of Canada — Eemoval of the Sick to Crown Point — Massacre 
of Pennsylvanians by the Enemy's Indians — Their Burial and Epi- 
taph — Eetreat from Isle aux Noix to Isle la Motte and Crown Point — 
Encampment of the Troops at that place 92 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

General Gates Appointed to the Command of the Army — He Arrives at 
Albany and hears of the Eetreat — A question of Command between 
Schuyler and Gates — They set out together for Crown Point — Eecon- 
noitering Parties are sent down the Lake — Capture of Captain Wilson 
and his Men — Brigadier-General Gordon is killed by Lieut. Whit- 
comb — A Council of War Determines to Abandon Crown Point and 
Eemove the Sick to Fort George — Eemonstrance of Field Officers — 
Washington and his Generals disapprove of the Action of the Coun- 
cil — General Sullivan takes ofi'ense at the Appointment of General 
Gates, and Eesigns his Commission — A General Hospital is established 
at Fort George — Eemoval of the Sick — Their Neglect and Sufferings — 
Eemoval of the Army to Ticonderoga 99 

CHAPTEE IX. 

Ticonderoga — The Pennsylvania Troops Occupy and Eepair the French 
Lines — Baron de Wcedtke — Composition of the Array that Eetreated 
from Canada — Col. Enoch Poor — Division of the Army into Brigades — 
Ship-carpenters are sent up from the Atlantic Seaboard — Other Me- 
chanics begin to Arrive — Mount Independence is Cleared — Camp Life 
and Duties — Sickness on Mount Independence — Colonel JohnGreaton — 
Want of Mail Facilities 108 



Xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

Pagb 

News of the Declaration of Independence— A Copy is sent to Burgoyne, 
with a Demand for the Perpetrators of the Barbarities after the Cedars— 
Carleton Eeturns an Offensive Answer— Sectional Animosities be- 
tween the Troops— Ordnance and Ordnance Stores — Their Removal 
from Ticonderoga by Colonel Knox — Court-martial of Colonel Closes 
Hazen— Disret^peciful Conduct of General Arnold— HLs Arrest Re- 
quested, but Refused 118 

CHAPTER Xr. 

Terror Created by the News of the Retreat— Measures for Raising Re- 
inforcements—Reports of Small-pox interfere with Enlistments— Addi- 
tional Bounties Otiered — The Militia Rendezvous at Number Four — 
New Road from Mount Independence to Rutland — Sufferings of the 
Militia in the Wilderness — Reinforcements retarded by innoculation — 
The Sick required to disclose under oath how they took the disease — 
Alarm at the re-introduction of Small-pox by the Militia — Disappearance 
of Small-pox from the Army — Arrival of Reinforcements at Ticonde- 
roga — Formation of a new Brigade — General James Brickett — Wash- 
ington Orders Three of the Fullest Regiments to be Sent from Boston — 
Their Arrival at Ticonderoga — A Company of Mohican Indians — Con- 
struction of the Jersey Redoubt — Completion of the Intrenchments 
about the French Lines — Delays in the Works on Mount Independ- 
ence — Colonels Reed and St. Clair Appointed Brigadier-Generals — 
General James Reed — Conflicting Claims of Majors Wood and Morris 
to the Lt.-Colonelcy of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment — A Rest from 
Unremitting Labors — Court-martial of Deserters and other Offenders — 
Cleanly Appearance of the Pennsylvania Troops 128 

CHAPTER XIL 

Work on the Fleet at Skenesborough — Arnold assigned to the Command — 
Arrival of part of the Fleet at Crown Point — A False Alarm — Conflict 
of Authority between General Arnold and Captain Wynkoop — The 
Fleet sails down Lake Champlain — Arrives at Windmill Point — Posi- 
tion of the British Army — A Boat's Crew driven from the Shore with 
loss of Life — The Fleet cannonades the Wood, which occasions a False 
Report of an Engagement with the Enemy — Activity at Ticonderoga 
and Albany in consequence thereof — False Reports from the Mohawk 
Country — The Fleet ascends the Lake and anchors behind Valcour 
Island — Colonel Edward Wigglesworth — The Row-galleys join the 
Fleet — Sickness among the Ship-carpenters at Skenesborough 141 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Scarcity of Clothing in the Army — Anxiety occasioned by expiring 
Enlistments— De Haas', Maxwell's, and part of Wind's Regiments 



CONTENTS. Xm 

Page 
consent to remain— Movements of the British Army— Arrival of a 
second detachment of Hessian and Brunswick Troops— The British 
Advance up the Lake— General William Phillips— News of the Naval 
Battle received at Ticonderoga— Arrival of Arnold with the remains 
of the Fleet at Ticonderoga 1^2 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Construction of the British Fleet— It sets sail upon Lake Champlain— 
The Naval Battle of October 11th— Skillful Eetfeat of the Americans- 
Viscount Exmouth— Escape of part of the American Fleet— The Naval 
Battle of October 13th— Surrender of the Washington— Arnold runs his 
Vessels ashore and burns them— Ambushing the Bridle-path to Crown 
Point— Escape of Arnold and his Men to Ticonderoga— The loss on both 
sides— Lt.-Col. Thomas Hartley— Release of American Prisoners— 
Carleton's motive for releasing them 161 

CHAPTER XV. 

Occupation of Crown Point by the British Army— An Attack on Ticonder- 
oga expected— It is delayed by unfavorable winds— The Americans 
improve the time by preparing for it— New Post established on Mount 
Hope—Construction of a Boom across the Lake— Cutting down the trees 
on the Crown Point Road- Wet and stormy weather— Precautions 
against surprise— Construction of a Floating Bridge between Ticonde- 
roga and Mount Independence — Provisions for the Wounded — Scouting 
Parties— Gates calls for Ten to Fifteen Thousand Militia— The Lower 
Country alive with the movements of armed Men — Arrival of New 
England Militia at Ticonderoga— Scarcity of Provisions— Washington's 
opinion of Militia— Promotion of Lt. Col. Irvine, Major Morris, Captain 
Jonathan Jones, and Captain Grier— Advance of General Eraser's divi- 
sion to Putnam's Point under the guns of the British Fleet— General 
Simon Eraser — An attack hourly expected — Richard Stockton and 
George Clymer — Their comments on the suflerings of the Troops 173 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Alarm Guns Announce the Approach of the British— The Americans 
promptly man the Fortifications— Landing of British Troops on Three- 
Mile Point— A Reconnoissance by British Gunboats— An Assault upon 
the Works imminent— The British Troops retire without striking a 
blo^—Further Suspense— Detachments sent by Gates to "beat up" the 
Enemy's advance post— The British Army Retreat into Canada — Gates 
Dismisses the Militia and Details a Permanent Garrison for Ticonderoga 
—Departure of the First Pennsylvania and First and Second New Jersey 
Regiments — Their March Southward — Departure of General Gates with 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Bond's, Porter's, Keed's, Bedel's, Stark's, Poor's, Greaton's, and Patter- 
son's Kegiments — Their March to Reinforce Washington's Army — De- 
parture of other Troops from Ticonderoga — Dispatches for General 
Carleton which fail to reach him — Causes of the Eetreat — Return of 
Burgoyne to England — Lt.-Genl, John Burgoyne — Washington visits 
Ticonderoga — Conclusion 184 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Portrait of Gen. Philip Schuyler (Frontispiece). ^a.ge 

Portrait of Gen. David Wooster 28 

Portrait of Gen. John Thomas 50 

Portrait of Gen. John Sullivan go 

Portrait of Sir Guy Carleton jjo 

Portrait of Gen. Horatio Gates j^a 

Portrait of Gen. Benedict Arnold * jgg 

Portrait of Lt.-Gen. John Burgoyne I94 



Campaign for the Conquest of Canada, 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The News from Lexington and Concord — The Uprising throughout the 
Colonies — Mass-meeting at the State House, Philadelphia — Organization 
of Associators — Jonathan Jones' Company — The Eev. Thomas Barton and 
Bangor Church— Initiatory steps for Resistance to Great Britain — Major 
Philip Skene — Organization of the Regular Army — The Six Pennsylvania 
Regiments — William Irvine — William Allen — The Captains of the First 
Pennsylvania Regiment — Col. John Bull — Col. John Philip De Haas — Lt. 
Col. James Irvine — Major Anthony James Morris — The British Barracks 
at Philadelphia — Mounting Guard at the State House and along the 
Wharves — The Uniforms of the Pennsylvania Troops — Arrival of Martha 
Washington at Philadelphia — Lord Dunmore's Movements in Virginia — 
Philadelphia in the Winter of 1775-6. 

The courier who rode through the country with the 
news of the conflict at Lexington and Concord, reached 
Philadelphia in the evening of the 24th of April, 1775. 
He found the colonists, as he passed, prepared for the 
issue. Ten years of unredressed wrongs had gradually 
alienated their affections from the mother country. It 
was no rash or impetuous step they were about to take, 
hut one which was the result of a slowly-formed and 
settled conviction that they would have to give up 
their liberties or defend them with their blood. The 
hearts of the patriots were beating in solemn anticipation 
of the crisis which they felt was near at hand, and it 
needed but the intelligence that forty-six of their coun- 
trymen had already fallen in the cause, to tell them what 
to do. The uprising which followed was prompt and 
general. Israel Putnam leaving his plow in the furrow 



2 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

in Connecticut and riding in his farmer's garb to the 
camp, and John Stark hastening forward from his saw- 
mill in his shirt-sleeves, were but conspicuous types of 
the action of every patriot throughout the land. Every- 
where there was a resolute rush to arms. In Philadel- 
phia the excitement was intense. On the following day 
eight thousand people assembled in mass-meeting at the 
State House and resolved to form themselves into com- 
panies of Associators. This was the mode of organizing 
for defense which had prevailed extensively during the 
late French war. The province had never had a regular 
militia law, but relied upon this voluntary mode of 
organizing for defense as the emergency for it arose. 

The startling news from Lexington and Concord was 
rapidly spread along the roads leading out of Philadel- 
phia, by those who returned home from the city, and 
soon found its way throughout the province. WitKin a 
few days thereafter many companies of Associators were 
raised in the different counties of Pennsylvania. In 
Caernarvon township, Berks county, and the vicinity, a 
company was raised by Jonathan Jones, which he brought 
to a fair state of discipline before the month of May was 
over. The Rev. Thomas Barton, rector of Bangor 
Church, and missionary of the venerable Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, preached to 
them upon the momentous issues of the hour, as did the 
other clergy to other troops in different parts of the 
province, who sought their advice and counsel. Mr. 
Barton had had the cure of souls at Bangor Church for 
twenty years, and the people were much attached to 
him, noted as he was for his learning, zeal, and fidelity. 
At this pomt, however, their paths, like the paths of so 
many others at that time, began to separate, slightly at 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 6 

first, and within the bounds of toleration, but soon to di- 
verge as widely apart as the causes of the crown and the 
colonies. He was obliged to close the church a few 
months later because the people would not allow him to 
use the liturgy unless he omitted the collects and prayers 
for the king and royal family. He was a graduate of 
Trinity College, Dublin, and came to America as the mis- 
sionary of the society in 1754. In 1764 he was chaplain 
of a British regiment. In 1777 he was accused of being 
privy to a conspiracy to destroy the public stores at Lan- 
caster, York, and Carlisle, and with carrying on corre- 
spondence with the enemy, and was confined to the limits 
of the county, and finally to his own house at Lancaster. 
In 1778 he declined to take the test oath, and was 
granted a pass into the British lines at New York. He 
afterwards became chaplain to a British regiment in New 
York, and died May 25th, 1780. 

The province of Pennsylvania had been thrown upon 
its own resources by the articles of association adopted 
by Congress in October, 1774, in pursuance of which the 
local committees of safety were formed. The committee 
of Berks county was organized at Reading, December 
5th, 1774, with Edward Biddle as chairman and Dr. 
Jonathan Potts as secretary. Of this committee John 
Jones, brother of Jonathan, was a member from Caer- 
narvon township. This measure of passive resistance, 
which prohibited importation and discouraged every 
species of dissipation and extravagance by their virtue, 
honor, and love of country, rapidly brought out the capa- 
bilities of the people to help themselves. Arms were 
scarce, but gunsmiths, of which there were many in the 
province, were employed to make them at Philadelphia, 
and nearly all the interior towns. Even as far west as 



4 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Bedford, a solitary gunsmith was toiling away at twenty- 
five muskets, or "fire-locks," as they were called at that 
time, with such assistance as he could obtain, and a sad- 
dler was engaged in shaping all the available leather he 
could procure into cartridge-boxes. Steps were also 
taken to import arms, gun-locks, and barrels. No sheep 
were killed in the province until after they were sheared 
in the spring, and active measures were taken for the 
manufacture of gunpowder. 

Philip Skene, a British major on half-pay, after whom 
Skenesborough, at the head of Lake Champlain, was 
named, and Avho had lately been appointed Governor of 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, arrived most opportunely 
about this time at Philadelphia, in a vessel laden with 
arms, ammunition, and clothing for the British army. 
These were at once confiscated, and proved a most ac- 
ceptable addition to the limited colonial supplies. Major 
Skene, Lieut. Moncrief, and Mr. Lundy, who accompa- 
nied him, were placed in arrest. Congress at once ap- 
pointed a committee to examine their papers, the mem- 
bers of which were punctiliously put upon their honor to 
conceal whatever of a private nature might come to their 
knowledge by such examination. 

The Governor and his fellow-prisoners were subse- 
quently released upon their parole, with liberty to go 
anywhere within eight miles of the city, between the 
Delaware and Schuylkill, upon condition that they held 
no conversation with any one upon political subjects. 

These, however, were but the initiatory steps which 
prepared the way for the real work of the Revolution. 
It was conceded that a regular Continental army was nec- 
essary. The militia were well enough in an emergency 
and for local protection, but for sustained movements 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. O 

in the field against the disciplined troops of Great 
Britain, it was necessary that there should be a body of 
regular troops under the control of Congress, who should 
be dedicated exclusively to the duty of maintaining the 
common cause of American liberty, in whatever place 
their services should be required, without regard to colo- 
nial landmarks or local necessities. With this conviction, 
however, went the abiding prejudice of the colonists 
against standing armies as constant menaces to free 
government, and when Congress, in June, 1775, resolved 
to raise an army of fifteen thousand men, it limited the 
term of enlistment to a single year. For the mischief 
done the cause by allowing their usual foresight to be 
thus shortened by prejudice, it is but necessary to recall 
the distresses of the American army as these terms of 
enlistment began to expire. 

Washington was made Commander-in-Chief. Four ma- 
jor-generals — Ward, Lee, Schuyler, and Putnam — were 
appointed, and eight brigadiers — Pomeroy, Montgomery, 
Wooster, Heath, Spencer, Thomas, Sullivan, and Greene. 
The Pennsylvania contingent was gradually provided for. 
Six companies of riflemen, afterwards increased to eight, 
under Col. William Thompson, were ordered to be raised 
in June, but it was not until October 12th that the first 
regular Pennsylvania regiment (then called battalion) of 
infantry was called out by Congress. 

On the 25th of October the following captains of 
this regiment were appointed : — William Allen, Jonathan 
Jones, William Williams, Josiah Harmar, Marien Lamar, 
Thomas Dorsey, William Jenkins, and Augustine Willet. 
On the 9th of December, 1775, Congress ordered four 
additional regiments to be raised in Pennsylvania, and on 
the 2d of January, 1776, appointed Arthur St. Clair 



6 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

colonel of the Second, John Shee colonel of the Third, 
Anthony Wayne colonel of the Fourth, and Robert 
Magaw colonel of the Fifth. On the 4th of January, 
1776, Congress ordered still another regiment (the Sixth) 
to be raised, in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and 
a few days later appointed WilUam Irvine* colonel and 
Thomas Hartley lieutenant-colonel of this regiment. 
These six regiments composed the Pennsylvania Line 
until the army was re-organized on September 16th, 1776. 
when it was increased to twelve regiments. Of these six 
regiments, four — the First, Second, Fourth, and Sixth 
— ^took an active part in the movements against Canada. 
The other two (Shoe's and Magaw's) were with Wash- 
ington's army at New York, and distinguished themselves 
at Fort Washington, November 16th, 1776. 

These six regiments consisted of eight companies (of 
sixty-eight privates) each. In January, 1776, William 
Allen was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the Second 
Regiment, commanded by Colonel St. Clair. He was the 
son of William Allen, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, 
and the brother of Andrew AUen, who was Attorney- 
General, an early member of the Council of Safety, and 
member of the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania. 
Colonel Allen went to Canada with the Second Regiment, 
but when independence was declared, he resigned July 

* William Irvine was born in Ireland on the 3d of November, 1741, and was 
a surgeon on board a British man-of-war in 1754. He emigrated to Pennsylvania 
in 1764, and settled at Carlisle. In 1774 he was a deputy from Cumberland 
county to the Provincial Convention, which met in Philadelphia July 15th, 1774. 
In January, 1776, he was appointed Colonel of the Sixth Regiment of the Penn- 
sylvania Line, in the Continental army. He was taken prisoner at Three Rivers, 
and was not exchanged until May 6th, 1778. He was appointed Brigadier-Gen- 
eral by Congress, May 12th, 1779, and commanded the Second Pennsylvania 
Brigade until the fall of 1781. He afterwards rendered valuable service on the 
western frontier, with his headquarters at Pittsburgh, and was a member of Con- 
gress in 1793. He died at Philadelphia, August 12th, 1804. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 7 

24th, 1776, and put himself, with his father and brothers, 
under the protection of Howe, at Trenton, in December, 
1776, at a time when the cause of the colonies was con- 
sidered by the faint-hearted as hopeless. When the 
British army occupied Philadelphia, Sir William Howe 
appointed him colonel, and authorized him to raise a 
regiment of loyalists in Pennsylvania. At the time of 
the evacuation, in June, 1778, he had only succeeded, 
after the most indefatigable exertions, in raising one 
hundred and fifty-two, rank and file. After the war he 
went to New Brunswick. 

By the promotion of Allen, Jonathan Jones became 
the senior captain in the regiment, and Benjamin Davis, 
the first lieutenant in Williams' company, was elected 
captain in Aliens stead, on the 5th of January, 1776. 

Of the captains who entered the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment at the time of its organization, a brief sketch 
of the career of Jonathan Jones has been given in the 
preface. Williams became major of the Second Regi- 
ment March 12th, 1777; lieutenant-colonel of the Third 
June 28th, 1778, and resigned April 17th, 1780. Har- 
mar was born in Philadelphia in 1753; became major of 
the Third Regiment October 1st, 1776; lieutenant-colonel 
of the Sixth Regiment June 6th, 1777, and as such con- 
tinued in active service throughout the war. He was 
adjutant-general of the army under Greene in the South, 
1781-2. After the declaration of peace he became lieu- 
tenant-colonel of the regiment of Pennsylvania troops in 
the Continental service, stationed on the western frontier, 
which, at that time, was no more distant than the Ohio 
river. He was made brigadier-general July 31st, 1787, 
and commanded the expedition against the Indians on 
the Maumee in 1790. He resigned January 1st, 1792, 



8 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

and died August 20th, 1813. Lamar became major of 
the Fourth Regiment September 30th, 1776, and was 
killed at the massacre of Paoli, September 20th, 1777, 
in the midst of the British, on the retreat. His last 
words were : " Halt ! boys ! Give these assassins one 
fire!" when he was instantly cut down by the enemy. 
Dorsey resigned January 1st, 1777, and was appointed 
paymaster of the militia of Pennsylvania on the 13th of 
August, 1777. Willet resigned from the service Janu- 
ary 1st, 1777, and accepted a civil appointment. May 
10th, 1780, he became major of the Fourth Battalion of 
Pennsylvania militia, and became lieutenant-colonel of 
the same regiment May 1st, 1783. Jenkins, who was 
a Philadelphian, left Ticonderoga in August, 1776, a few 
weeks after the regiment reached there from Canada, and 
resigned September 6th, 1776. Davis resigned his com- 
mission of captain on the 1st of January, 1777. 

There was nothing in the service which could appeal 
to other motives than patriotism in those who responded 
to the call of Congress. The pay of a captain was only 
twenty dollars a month, with three rations, and the 
prospect that this small sum would be paid punctually 
was by no means encouraging. The active operations of 
the army at that time were under Washington before 
Boston, and under Montgomery in Canada, both at great 
distances from Pennsylvania, and neither the condition 
of the commissariat nor the public revenues gave promise 
of even the necessaries of a campaign. 

On the 25th of November, Congress appointed John 
Bull colonel, James Irvine lieutenant-colonel, and An- 
thony James Morris major of the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment. Colonel Bull was a native of Montgomery 
county, and had been a captain in the military forces of 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 9 

the Province in the French War of 1758. He was also 
conspicuous in the civil and military affairs of the prov- 
ince during the Revolution. On the 17th of January, 
1776, the officers of the regiment presented a memorial 
to Congress, preferring charges against him, which were 
investigated by Congress, and resulted in his resignation 
on the 20th. On the 22d, Congress elected John Philip 
De Haas, of Lebanon, colonel of the regiment in his 
stead. This officer was born in Holland, about the year 
1735, from whence he emigrated to America in 1750, 
and settled in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He took an 
early part in the military affairs of the province, having 
been made an ensign at the age of twenty-three in the 
successful expedition against Fort Duquesne under Gen- 
eral Forbes in 1758. His promotion was rapid through 
the grades of adjutant and captain to the rank of major, 
to which he was appointed June 9th, 1764, and assigned 
to the command of Fort Henry, in Bethel township, 
Berks county, which was the chief of a line of frontier 
fortifications between the Delaware and Susquehanna 
rivers. From there he marched with several companies to 
Pittsburgh in August of the same year, where he joined 
the army under Colonel Bouquet, and marched with it 
towards Sandusky in an expedition against the Dela- 
wares, Wyandots, and Shawnees. On the 31st of July, 
1765, he was appointed justice of the peace at Lebanon. 
Congress appointed him a brigadier-general in the Con- 
tinental army on the 21st of February, 1777, and he 
commanded a brigade in Washington's army at Morris- 
town, New Jersey. He was afterwards stationed in 
Pennsylvania. In October, 1779, having retired from 
the army, he removed to Philadelphia to reside, where he 
died of gout on the 3d of June, 1786. 



10 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Lieutenant-Colonel Irvine was a hatter by trade, 
whose place of business was on Second street, opposite 
Christ Church.* When the Revolution broke out he be- 
came captain of a Philadelphia company of Associators. 
He was made colonel of the Ninth Regiment of the 
Pennsylvania Line, under the new establishment, Octo- 
ber 25th, 1776, and became colonel of his old regiment, 
which had then become the Second, after Colonel De 
Haas was promoted. He resigned from the regular army 
on the 1st of June, 1777, and on the 26th of August, 
1777, was made brigadier-general of Pennsylvania mi- 
litia. On the 5th of December, 1777, Washington sent 
him with six hundred men, composing the Second Brig- 
ade of Pennsylvania militia, from his camp at Whitemarsh, 
to skirmish with the advance parties of the enemy 
under General Howe. He encountered them at the 
foot of Chestnut Hill, and, after a short conflict, in which 
he was wounded, his troops abandoned him, and he was 
taken prisoner. He was not exchanged until the 1st 
of June, 1781. He was appointed major-general of 
Pennsylvania militia. May 27th, 1782, and filled many 
important civil offices under the State government, 

* The following reference is made to Colonel Irvine's trade by Major Andre, 
in his poem called the "Cow Chase." General William Irvine was a physi- 
cian : — 

" Which Irvine 'twas, Fame don't relate, 

Nor can the Muse assist her. 
Whether 'twas he that cocks a hat. 
Or he that gives a glister. 

" For greatly one was signalized 

That fought at Chestnut Hill, 
And Canada immortalized 

The vender of the piU. 

"Yet the attendance upon Proctor 

They both might have to boast of; 
For there was business for tlie doctor. 

And hats to be disposed of." 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 11 

among them that of vice-president. He died April 28th, 
1819. 

Major Morris was the grandson of Anthony Morris, 
Mayor of Philadelpliia in 1703, and first cousin of Cap- 
tain Anthony Morris, wlio was killed at Princeton. He 
was born in Philadelphia in 1740, was appointed Major 
of the First Pennsylvania Regiment November 25th, 
1775, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 
the same regiment, October 25th, 1776, and to colonel 
of the Ninth Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line on the 
21st of February, 1777. He shortly thereafter retired 
from the service. On the 20th of October, 1779, when 
a large force of Pennsylvania troops was raised at the 
caU of Washington, he was offered the position of Adju- 
tant-General of the State, which he declined. He died 
at Philadelphia in 1831, at the advanced age of ninety- 
one years, and was buried in the Friends' burying-ground 
at Fourth and Arch streets. 

On the 11th of January, Congress ordered the First 
Pennsylvania Regiment to the barracks at Philadelphia, 
where they were quartered until their departure for 
Canada. These barracks were built by the British after 
Braddock's defeat, and enclosed three sides of the square 
now bounded by Second, Third, Buttonwood, and Green 
streets. Along the Second street front there was an 
ornamental fence, and the open space of about three acres 
between the buildings was used as a parade ground. 
The barracks were of brick, two stories high, with a 
balcony throughout their entire length along the second 
story. The officers' quarters were in a large three-story 
building on the Third street side, where the Northern 
Liberties public school now stands. The barracks were 
separated from the city by a low marsh, across which 



12 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Second street was opened on a causeway which ran from 
them to the bluff on the south side of Pegg's run (now 
Willow street). It was about twenty minutes' walk from 
the State House to the barracks, and the people of the 
city, of all ages and conditions, whose interest was with- 
drawn from almost everything else, and concentrated 
upon the great events which were then transpiring, went 
out to the barracks frequently to witness the drilling 
and parade of the troops. 

Twice a day detachments were marched down Second 
street past old Christ Church, into town, with fife and 
drum, to mount guard at the State House (where Con- 
gress was then in session) and the wharves along the 
river front. The wings and yard of the State House 
contained large quantities of ammunition and artillery 
stores, and at the wharves there were a number of ves- 
sels and such materials of war as the infant colonies 
had been able to collect, much of it contributed by 
private citizens. 

On the 4th of November, 1775, Congress had resolved 
that the cloth for the army " should be dyed brown, and 
the distinctions of regiments made in the facings." The 
uniform coats of the First Pennsylvania Regiment were 
brown with buff facings. Those of the Second, Fourth, 
and Sixth Hegiments were blue ; those of the Second and 
Sixth had red facings ; those of the Fourth were faced 
with white. They were all made after the familiar 
Continental pattern. The troops wore waistcoats, knee- 
breeches, and stockings, the last covered up with leggings 
at that season of the year. They were also provided 
with mittens, knapsacks, and haversacks of Russian duck, 
and wooden canteens. Each man was also armed with a 
tomahawk. They had their regimental colors, and each 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 13 

company its drum and fife. The officers and men wore 
their hair powdered and tied up in cues, and shaved 
their faces clean. 

Martha Washington reached Philadelphia about this 
time on her way from Mount Vernon to join the General 
at Cambridge. She made the long journey in^her own 
carriage, with four horses and out-riders in livery, accom- 
panied by her son, Mr. Custis, and his wife. The 
" Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse," an organization 
still existing, and the officers of the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment, met her at the Schuylkill ferry and escorted 
her into the city, where she remained some days, and 
upon her departure they escorted her out of the city on 
her way to New York. 

Towards the close of November, there came a cry for 
assistance from Virginia. The committee of Northamp- 
ton county became alarmed at the movements of Lord 
Dunmore, who had declared martial law in that prov- 
ince, and asked assistance from Congress. Lord Dun- 
more was on board the ship William, with a fleet of four 
ships, carrying from sixteen to twenty-two guns each, 
and a number of sloops, schooners, and boats. The 
coast was at his mercy. He had armed two hundred 
slaves of Norfolk and Princess Anne counties, who had 
joined him under promise of their freedom. The inhab- 
itants of those two counties generally were renouncing 
the Colonial authority, and returning, by new oaths, to 
their old allegiance to the king. The peninsula of Acco- 
mac and Northampton, across the Chesapeake, with its 
eighty miles of coast, and its navigable rivers and creeks, 
was particularly exposed to Lord Dunmore's fleet. Its 
harvest had just yielded half a million bushels of wheat, 
which was much needed by the British army, then closely 



14 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

besieged by the Continental army under Washington in 
Boston. The slaves outnumbered the whites two to 
one. It had no military organizations, and its people 
were not accustomed to bear arms. The property-holders 
were well disposed towards the cause of the Colonies, 
but they hesitated to declare themselves without the 
protection of armed authority, and some prospect that 
the cause could be sustained. They were not able to 
obtain relief from the western shore of Virginia with 
the fleet in the bay, and even there ammunition was 
very scarce. In this alarming state of affairs, the com- 
mittee (by no means confident that they would not be 
delivered up to Lord Dunmore without resistance) laid 
their situation before Congress, and Congress immediately 
took measures to procure armed vessels for the destruc- 
tion of Dunmore's fleet, and on the 4th of December or- 
dered Jonathan Jones' company, and two others of the 
First Pennsylvania Regiment, to march immediately, un- 
der the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Irvine, " into 
Northampton county, Virginia, for the protection of the 
association in those parts, and for the defense thereof 
against the designs of the enemies of America." 

These companies were not as yet equipped, however, 
for this expedition, and on that account their departure 
was delayed for several weeks. 

On Sunday, the chimes of old Christ Church were dis- 
tinctly heard at the barracks, and the officers of the regi- 
ment often went in and sat in the cold church, where 
there were no stoves, to hear Bishop White, who was then 
assistant minister of Christ Church and St. Peter's, and 
the Rev. Jacob Duche, the chaplain of the first Congress, 
preach. 

These were times of great excitement in Philadelphia. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 15 

It had been selected as the capital of the United Colo- 
nies, and became the temporary home of their represent- 
ative men, the weight of whose presence naturally 
strengthened the cause, which was popular and powerful 
already. Those who were bold enough to oppose it were 
treated with great intolerance by the mob. They carted 
Hunt and Kearsley ignominiously through the streets. 
Those who, from prudence or hostility, were reserved in 
their conduct, were made as uncomfortable as possible. 
It was the centre of Colonial power, and of communica- 
tion with all sections. News came in slowly over the 
wretched roads, but when it did come, it was received 
with avidity by the crowds who assembled at the inns and 
coffee-houses. The newspapers were small and heavy, 
and did little else than retail a few items of general news 
second-hand. Lint-scraping became the fashionable em- 
ployment of ladies at social gatherings called for that 
purpose. Their hands were also apt at the distaff and the 
reel, and the yarn spun by them was knit into stockings 
for the troops. Business of every kind was very much 
depressed. The prevailing topic for discussion in society, 
the counting-house, the streets, the courts, and the press, 
was the wrongs of the Colonies, and the measures which 
were then rapidly going forward for their redress. There 
were town meetings, and the battalions of Associators 
which constantly paraded the streets added to the mili- 
tary enthusiasm. The sound of martial music nearly 
always filled the air. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Solicitude of Congress for Affairs in Canada— Schuyler calls for Reinforce- 
ments — Congress orders the First Pennsylvania and Second New Jersey 
Kegiments to Canada — William Maxwell — Reinforcements from the Eastern 
Colonies — March of Jonathan Jones' Company for Canada — Their stay in 
Albany — Arrival of Sir Henry Clinton at New York — Mutiny at Albany — 
Traversing the frozen Lakes — Distressing condition of the Army before Que- 
bec — Small-pox among the Troops — A Futile Attempt by Mr. Beaujeu to 
relieve the Garrison — Erection of Batteries and opening fire upon the Town — 
Arrival of General Wooster at Quebec — Departure of Arnold. 

Hostilities had begun in Massachusetts, and Washing- 
ton's army was closely besieging the British army in 
Boston. But of far greater solicitude to Congress was 
the situation of affairs in Canada. Sir Guy Carleton, the 
British governor, had been aj)pointed commander of the 
British forces in Canada, on the 2d of August, 1775, 
and had made an unsuccessful effort to induce the Cana- 
dians to espouse the British cause. They were disposed to 
be neutral, with a strong leaning toward the cause of their 
sister colonies. The union of the colonies was deemed 
imperfect by Congress without the co-operation of Canada. 
From the beginning to the disastrous evacuation of that 
country, Congress, remembering the bloody incursions 
which the French and their Indians had periodically made 
for a century and a half into the northern provinces, clung 
tenaciously to the belief, as the English had done in the 
French wars before them, that the freedom and repose of 
the colonies could never be secure with Canada in hostile 
hands on their border. To this end Congress had sent 
Schuyler to occupy it, trusting not so much to military 
conquest as to friendly persuasion of a favorably-inclined 

(16) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 17 

people, under the assurance of protection by armed force ; 
but later, when the chances of success seemed desperate, 
and the Canadians became estranged from the cause, they 
continued to strain every nerve and drain every resource 
for its conquest, whether by friendly or hostile means. 

Schuyler became ill before the work of the expedition 
had fairly begun, and was obL'ged to return to Ticonde- 
roga, when the command devolved upon Montgomery. 

Early in December, Montgomery's triumphant march 
was arrested by the walls of Quebec. His success up to 
that point had been so easy and brilliant, that the un- 
expected check he received there was doubly discouraging. 
Disappointed in the escape of Carleton from Montreal, 
when his capture seemed imminent, his troubles seemed 
to begin with that event. Carleton, disguised as a Cana- 
dian traveler, had eluded Montgomery's batteries and 
guard-boats under cover of the night, in a boat rowed by 
six peasants with muffled oars. The influence of his 
presence afterwards within the walls of Quebec, and the 
extreme measures of discipline adopted by him, contrib- 
uted more than anything else toward Montgomery's failure 
and death. 

On the 6th of January, 1776, Congress received a let- 
ter from General Schuyler, who commanded the Northern 
Department, with headquarters at Albany, urging them 
to send large reinforcements into Canada. " Strain every 
nerve to send a large corps of troops down the instant 
the lake is passable," General Montgomery had written 
to Schuyler, from Quebec, on the 26th of December; "it 
is of the utmost importance we should be possessed of 
Quebec before succors can arrive; and I must here give 
it to you as my opinion, and that of several sensible men 
acquainted with this province, that we are not to expect 



18 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

a uDion with Canada till we have a force in the country 
sufficient to insure it against any attempt that may be 
made for its recovery." Five days after this letter was 
written, the attack upon Quebec failed, and Montgomery 
was killed. 

Congress did not wait until the "lake was passable," 
as Montgomery had suggested, but responded promptly 
to General Schuyler's demand for reinforcements. On 
the 8th of January they revoked the order for the three 
companies of the First Pennsylvania Regiment to march 
into Virginia, and ordered the whole of the regiment, and 
Colonel William Maxwell's'^ Second New Jersey Regiment 
to march immediately to Canada. The fate of Montgom- 
ery's army and his death were not known in Philadel- 
phia until the 17th. The First Pennsylvania Regimen t, 
was delayed in marching long enough, however, to learn 
that news, which cast such a deep shadow of gloom over 
the colonies, and the nature of the errand on which they 
were going. The remnant of Montgomery's army be- 
fore Quebec, when these orders were given, did not exceed 
seven hundred men, and with that little force Benedict 
Arnold, who had succeeded to the command, was keeping 
up the siege until reinforcements should arrive. 

The First Pennsylvania Regiment was ordered to 
march by companies, one day apart ; but there was so 

* William Maxwell had been in military service since the French War of 
1758. He was appointed Colonel of the Second New Jersey Regiment in the 
Continental army, November 7th, 1775, and was made Brigadier-General by 
Congress, October 23d, 1776. He commanded a brigade in AVashington's army 
at Morristown. He also commanded the Light Infantry at the Battle of Brandy- 
wine, and was the first to engage the vanguard of the enemy on the west side of 
Chadd's Ford. He was at the Battle of Germantown, and with the army at Val- 
ley Forge. After the evacuation of Philadelphia, his were the first troops de- 
tached by Washington to harass the march of the enemy. He was conspicuous 
for his gallantry at the Battle of Monmouth. He resigned his commission on the 
25th of July, 1780, and died November 12th, 1798. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 19 

much unavoidable delay in fitting them out for so long 
and severe a journey, that Congress, on the 19th of Jan- 
uary, ordered such companies as were ready to proceed 
without further delay. As it was, it was necessary for 
the committee to go around the city of Philadelphia from 
house to house in order to procure from the inhabitants 
the necessary blankets for the use of the troops. 

The failure of the attack upon Quebec and the death 
of the lamented Montgomery had put a new phase upon 
the condition of affairs in Canada. Washington, who 
had heretofore been sanguine of important results from 
the expedition, and had watched every movement with 
the greatest interest and soKcitude, now began to har- 
bor forebodings of the most disastrous consequences, 
not only to the colonial cause in Canada, but to the 
province of New York, whose geographical position be- 
tween the eastern and southern provinces made it a most 
important link in the chain of colonies. 

Schuyler, in his letter to Washington announcing the 
fall of Montgomery, proposed that he should send with 
all possible dispatch a reinforcement of three thousand 
men from his army into Canada by the way of Onion 
river and Lake Champlain. But recruiting in Washing- 
ton's army was so slow after his first army had been 
dissolved, that it was even necessary to call out five 
thousand milhtia to protect his own lines, and the greater 
part of these had gone home. He was far from being 
in a condition, therefore, to send troops to Canada. " In 
short," he replied to General Schuyler, on the 18th of 
January, from Cambridge, " I have not a man to spare." 
But in view of the necessity for prompt action in Cana- 
dian affairs, he called a council of general officers, which 
was attended by John Adams and other members of the 



20 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

General Court of Massachusetts. This council deter- 
mined to call upon New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and 
Connecticut for one regiment each of Continental troops 
for service in Canada, to be enUsted for one year. In 
order to avoid expense, it was resolved that the three 
regiments for Canada should be taken from the thirteen 
regiments of militia which the neighboring colonies had 
been requested to furnish Washington with, by a council 
of war held two days before, to serve until April 1st, in 
order that "a bold attempt to conquer the ministerial 
troops in Boston" might be made. The three colonies 
responded promptly to Washington's call for troops for 
Canada. New Hampshire furnished a regiment com- 
manded by Colonel Timothy Bedel, Massachusetts a 
regiment commanded by Colonel Elisha Porter, and Con- 
necticut a regiment commanded by Colonel Charles Bur- 
rell. Indeed, the requisition upon Connecticut had been 
anticipated by that province. As soon as Governor 
Trumbull received intelligence of the repulse at Quebec, 
he convened the Council of Safety, and they promptly 
resolved to raise a regiment of seven hundred and fifty 
men to reinforce the army in Canada. 

Congress subsequently approved of Washington's 
course in this matter, and commended him highly for 
the zeal and prudence displayed in his prompt action. 
They also directed that the thirteen regiments of militia 
for the army at Cambridge should not be diminished, but 
that the three regiments for Canada should be raised in 
addition to them, and the Continental army increased to 
that extent. 

With the sending of these reinforcements Washington's 
hopes for the cause in Canada revived, and he again 
appeared confident that the city of Quebec would fall 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 21 

into the possession of the Americans, and the entire con- 
quest of Canada he completed during the winter. 

On the morning of Tuesday, January 23d, 1776, Jona- 
than Jones began his long march of six hundred miles 
with his company of eighty-three men * The weather 
was intensely cold. The winter was one of great sever- 
ity. The snow at Quebec, which was their destination, 
was then six feet deep. They marched in high spirits 
to the music of their fife and drum, amid the cheers and 
parting salutations of the people, who were gathered 
along the road to witness their departure. They had 
one baggage wagon, but no tents, and depended upon 
such lodgings and provisions as their quartermaster, 
Jacob Shallus, who had preceded them, could procure 
on the road. General Charles Lee wrote from New 
York to Washington, at Cambridge, that they were 
"good and strong in numbers." 

A journey to Canada at that early day was an arduous 
undertaking under the most favorable circumstances. In 
midwinter it was terrible. The roads were bad and the 
greater part of the way was through a wilderness which 
was uninhabitable at that season of the year. Even the 
best parts of the country were but sparsely settled, and 
afforded very limited accommodation for so large a body 
of men. 

They marched through Germantown and Chestnut Hill 
to Bethlehem, and from thence to Easton, where they 
crossed the Delaware on the ice, and took the eastern- 
most route to the Hudson, through Oxford, Walpack, 
Sussex Court-House, Goshen, and Wallkill, seeking such 
shelter as the thinly-settled, uncultivated country afforded, 

* Williams', Dorsey's, Jenkins', and Davis' companies followed within a week, 
Harmar's, Lamar's, and Willet's companies did not march until spring. 



22 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

and bivouacking under the protection of the pine forests, 
when they could find none. 

From Goshen, in New York, the lower counties of 
Orange and Ulster transported them on sleds to Albany, 
at the public expense. Had it not been for the relief 
thus afforded them, they could not have made the march 
without greatly increased suffering to the men and seri- 
ous loss to the service. As it was, they made the ardu- 
ous journey from Philadelphia to Albany in the short 
space of eleven days. Their shoes, moccasins, and mit- 
tens were worn out, and their arms rendered unfit for 
use by exposure. They reported to Greneral Schuyler, 
one of the most sagacious and patriotic officers of the 
Revolution, distinguished alike for the best qualities of a 
soldier and a man, who when twice removed from his 
command through sectional jealousy and intrigue, was 
able to bear the unmerited indignity with patience. " I 
am incapable" said he, "of sacrificing my country to a 
resentment, however just; and I trust I shall give an 
example of what a good citizen ought to do when he is 
in my situation." Whether in or out of authority he 
continued untiring in his efforts for the cause of his 
countrymen, willing to trust his fame to them and their 
posterity. Time has richly rewarded his forbearance. 
The motives of his detractors have long since been fully 
understood, and as the fame of Schuyler has increased, 
theirs have paled before it. 

These troops were obliged to remain in Albany for 
several days until they were refitted with the necessary 
articles they required, as well as General Schuyler's lim- 
ited stores would permit. Albany was then a small town 
with less than three thousand inhabitants, who still 
spoke the Dutch of their ancestors, and very little 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 23 

English. The houses were built as is the fashion in Hol- 
land, with their gables toward the street. During their 
short sojourn at Albany, refugees from the city of New 
York reached there with intelligence that Sir Henry 
Clinton had arrived there from Boston. Tryon, the 
British governor of New York, had already taken up 
his quarters on board a British man-of-war in the harbor, 
and between the two, it was expected by the panic- 
stricken inhabitants that the city would soon share the 
fate of Falmouth and Norfolk. Clinton's departure 
from Boston, however, had been anticipated by Washing- 
ton, who detached General Lee with instructions to raise 
troops in Connecticut, proceed to New York, and frus- 
trate any designs which Sir Henry might have on that 
place. Sir Henry, not encouraged probably by his sur- 
vey of the situation, disclaimed any intention of attack- 
ing the town, and withdrew as he had come leaving them 
unmolested. 

The companies of Captains Jones, Dorsey, Davis, Wil- 
liams, and Jenkins, with Lieut. Col. Irvine, and Major 
Morris, were all of the First Pennsylvania Regiment 
that reached Albany in time to cross the lakes before the 
ice began to break up. The remaining three companies, 
with Colonel De Haas, and the rifle company of Captain 
John Nelson, which was also attached to the regiment, 
were delayed until spring, and did not reach Canada 
until the last of April, too late to join the army before 
Quebec. 

The foretaste of the hardships of war which their 
bleak and inhospitable march to Albany had given the 
First Pennsylvania Regiment, was too much for some of 
the more unruly spirits among them. As they looked 
forward from their comparative comfort at Albany to the 



24 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

still greater hardships that were before them in the wil- 
derness and on the frozen lakes beyond, murmurings of 
discontent arose from some of the men, which soon broke 
out into open mutiny. In addition to the privations and 
sufferings of their march, they justly complained that 
their pay was withheld from them. General Schuyler, 
who was a rigid disciplinarian, caused them to be im- 
mediately placed under arrest, tried the ringleaders by 
coui't-martial, and promptly punished them. 

Biscuits and hard bread were baked at Fort George 
and Ticonderoga, in anticipation of their coming, and pork 
was dressed and put in a portable shape, for they could 
expect nothing on the way which they did not carry with 
them. 

By the middle of February, they set out from Albany. 
At this time there were no roads on either side of Lake 
Champlain. The country on the western shore was an 
uninhabited wilderness, and there were but few settle- 
ments to the east. 

The main highway from the south into Canada was up 
the Hudson and over Lakes George and Champlain. Cani- 
aderi-Ckiaruntey "the lake that is the gate of the country,"' 
was the expressive name by which the latter was known 
in the Indian tongue. These lakes were traversed by the 
troops over the ice during the severe winter months, and 
in boats at other seasons of the year. The boats used 
by them were thirty-six feet long and eight feet wide, 
drawing about one foot of water when loaded, and carry- 
ing from thirty to forty men each. They were rowed by 
the soldiers, and were provided with a mast to which a 
blanket might be fixed if the wind was favorable. All 
communication was cut off while the ice was forming in 
the early winter and while it was breaking up in the 
early spring. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 25 

Sleds were provided by the committee of Albany to 
carry the companies of the First Pennsylvania Regiment 
on the ice up the Hudson, which often served the double 
purpose of transportation by day, and bedsteads during 
the long February nights. They passed within sight of 
Schuyler's baronial mansion, which was burned by Bur- 
goyne in his retreat the following year. At the ruins of 
Fort Edward, they found comfortable accommodations in 
a large inn for the night, but this, and Wing's tavern 
seven miles further north, and the rough barracks which 
had been erected inside the ruins of Fort George on the 
lake of that name, afforded the exceptional instances of 
shelter by day or by night. 

At Wing's tavern (now Glens Falls) they took final 
leave of the Hudson, and crossed through the snow to 
the head of Lake George. The distance was only eight 
miles, but it lay through a dense pine forrest, and was 
accomplished with suffering and considerable difficulty. 
At its end they stood on an eminence with the grand 
scenery of the ice-bound lake below them. 

They slept that night in the rude barracks of Fort 
George, which had been hastily constructed of rough 
planks inside the ruined walls of the fort; and in the 
early morning of the following day, they continued their 
journey in high spirits over the frozen lake, part of the 
time in their sleds, and part on foot, to quicken the circu- 
lation of the blood when they were benumbed by the cold. 

From the landing-place at the foot of Lake George they 
took the short road of three and a half miles to Lake 
Champlain, crossing the strait which unites the two lakes 
on a bridge below the waterfall (which was hedged in 
with banks of frozen spray), and ascending th6 hill be- 
yond to the old French lines, where remnants of the logs 



26 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

still remained that had been saturated with the blood of 
Abercrombie's men eighteen years before. This spot 
became familiar to them under different auspices, a few 
months later, as we shall see in a subsequent chapter. 
The ruins of old Fort Ticonderoga stood a quarter of a 
mile below in full view, to their left — used then only as 
a magazine for military stores — and over its crumbled 
ramparts they obtained their first view of the milder 
scenery of Lake Champlain. 

The remainder of their journey was made on foot. It 
was difficult to obtain sleds for the long journey into 
Canada, on account of the great scarcity of forage for 
the horses and oxen, and the few that could be obtained 
were required for the transportation of cannon and pro- 
visions. Sufficient oxen could not even be procured, on 
account of the scarcity of forage, to transport cannon on 
the 27th of March from Half Moon to Fort George. 

It was an inhospitable, inclement, and inglorious region. 
Lafayette wrote of it two years later, when he had been 
assigned to the command of an expedition against 
Canada: — "Lake Champlain is too cold for producing 
the least bit of laurel ; and if I am not starved, I shall 
be as proud as if I had gained three battles." 

Despite their discouraging surroundings they contin- 
ued their march in high spirits over the ice and snow of 
the lake, for one hundred and thirty miles, to St. John's, 
on the Sorel river, keeping close to the western shore, 
and facing the bitter winds which blew up the lake with- 
out resistance from the North. Their ranks were thinned 
by desertion and disease. Their arms and accoutrements 
were sadly the worse for wear and exposure. In addi- 
tion to their bodily sufferings they were struggling against 
the mental depression which was then settling down 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 27 

upon all who were friendly to the cause, occasioned 
partly by the reverses in Canada which they were then 
marching to retrieve, partly by the machinations of the 
Tories in New York from which they had just come, and 
partly by the long inaction of the Continental army be- 
fore Boston. 

On the lake they passed Captain Marinus Willett on 
his way to Albany, in charge of a number of British 
officers and their families, who had been taken prisoners 
by Montgomery. 

The officers found shelter for the first night at Faris', 
on the east side of the lake, below Crown Point, and 
later at McCaully's ; but generally, as the long winter 
nights closed in upon them, they kindled fires upon the 
shore with hemlock branches, constructed rough tents, 
and made their beds with the same materials. They 
were grateful even for this rude hospitality of the forest, 
and slept well after their fatiguing march. After they 
passed Cumberland Head, the ground became low, and 
even the comfort of cedars and hemlock trees was denied 
them. They were entirely without shelter until they 
entered the Sorel river, where they obtained refreshment 
at a poor inn then known as Stodd's tavern. 

At length they reached St. John's, where the soldiers 
were quartered in the barracks which Montgomery had 
taken from the British garrison in the preceding Sep- 
tember. The officers crossed the river to a tavern kept 
by a French woman named Donaho, who, upon learning 
that they were from Pennsylvania, had many inquiries 
to make after her husband, who was then a prisoner of 
war in that province. 

From St. John's they marched for eighteen miles to 
La Prairie, over a road of the worst possible description, 



28 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

across the strip of ground which divides the St. Lawrence 
from the Sorel. As they neared the banks of the St. 
Lawrence, the cheerful signs of civilization, to which they 
had long been strangers, began to reappear, in the distant 
view they obtained of Montreal and the comfortable 
homes that lined the banks of the river as far as their 
eyes could reach. Weary, frost-bitten, and foot-sore as 
they were, this sight was a most welcome one and had 
a most exhilarating effect upon their spirits. 

From La Prairie they crossed the river to Montreal, 
which then contained less than sixteen hundred houses, 
surrounded by a wall pierced with loopholes for cannon 
and fire-arms. Three-fourths of the inhabitants were 
French. They reported to General David Wooster, who 
had been left in command of the garrison of that city by 
General Montgomery when he marched against Quebec. 
He was then in command of all the American forces in 
Canada, having succeeded to that position upon Mont- 
gomery's death. 

The five companies of the First Pennsylvania Regiment 
remained in Montreal for a fortnight to recuperate, and 
then continued their march for Arnold's camp. Arnold 
had been promoted to the rank of brigadier-general by 
Congress, in January, for gallant services in the attack 
upon Quebec. The St. Lawrence was too full of floating 
ice to admit of water transportation, so they were obliged 
to take the road down its north-western bank. A post 
had been established at Three Rivers, half-way between 
Montreal and Quebec, under Derrick Swart, Deputy Com- 
missary-General, to aid the transportation of the reinforce, 
ments, and they were furnished from there with a few 
horses and sleighs. At this place Monsieur Pallasier had 
a furnace, from wliich he promised to supply the army 




■^53? 






Mi^t 




CONQUEST OF CANADA. 29 

with shot and shell, but owing to the want of coal he was 
prevented from doing so until after the army was obliged 
to retreat. They arrived at Quebec toward the close of 
March, where, after a dismal journey, they found a most 
dismal and discouraging state of affairs. There was still 
five feet of snow upon the ground, through which the tops 
of the fences were just beginning to appear. The little 
army had slowly increased in numbers to two thousand 
five hundred men, of whom two hundred and eighty -foui' 
were all that remained of the brave fellows who accom- 
panied Arnold in his suffering and perilous expedition 
into Canada through the wilderness by the way of the 
Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers. A very large part of 
this army had enlisted only until the middle of April, and 
nearly one-third were down with the small-pox. This 
scourge, which had made its appearance late in February, 
was said to have been introduced into the camp by a girl 
who had been a nurse in the hospital at Quebec, and had 
<;ome out among the troops. It was confined chiefly, how- 
ever, to the New England troops. Vaccination had not 
then been discovered, and innoculation, which was no less 
than spreading the disease in a milder form, but in all its 
objectionable features, had been positively prohibited. 
Yet the New England troops, regardless of the safety of 
the army, and in direct violation of orders, secretly in- 
noculated themselves. The inhabitants of the vicinity of 
Quebec had been removed by Arnold into the country, 
and every other precaution was taken by him to prevent 
the spread of this loathsome disease. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing these precautions, it continued steadily to increase, 
until it had prostrated nearly half the army. 

The sick suffered for the want of medicine, as did the 
well for nearly every necessary thing. Scarcely a month's 



30 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

provisions were on hand, and the prospect of increasing 
the store was by no means encom^aging, as there was 
nothing to send them from below, and the colonial credit 
was exhausted. The inhabitants required payment in 
specie for everything they furnished. 

Arnold, who had only partially recovered from the 
wound in his leg which he had received in the assault upon 
Quebec, was disappointed and discouraged at the tardiness 
and paucity of his reinforcements and supplies. What 
troops he had were in good spirits, but he was without 
competent artillerists and engineers. Neither had he the 
men, the guns, nor the ammunition, with which to under- 
take the reduction of the strong fortifications of Quebec, 
and his troops were too few in number to attempt an es- 
calade. His only hope was that the garrison would sur- 
render from want of supplies, and to this he clung with 
the tenacity of despair. 

His inadequate force was distributed along a line en- 
circling the besieged city, twenty-six miles in length, 
including three ferries, over a wide and rapid river, 
one above the town, and the other two by the way of 
Orleans Island, below it. This slender cord of poorly- 
armed men had encircled the city (with its cold walls 
frowning down upon them) for three months, completely 
cutting off all communication, yet no attempt had been 
made to break it. Every means had been resorted to by 
the Americans to provoke the garrison into a conflict in 
the open country, but in vain. They preferred the secu- 
rity of their fortifications. The greater part of the sub- 
urbs of St. Roque and St. John's had been burned to 
prevent the inhabitants from using the houses for fuel, of 
which they stood in great need, yet no attempt was made 
to save them. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 31 

Through his emissaries, Carleton had endeavored to 
persuade the Canadians to arm and come to his relief, but 
with little success. In March, a small party of them, led 
by Mr. Beaujeu, concentrated about eighteen miles below 
Quebec for that purpose. When Arnold learned of their 
movements, he sent Lieutenant Hughes with a party of 
Pennsylvania troops to disperse them. They soon fell in 
with their advanced guard. A short skirmish ensued, in 
which a number of Canadians, including a priest, were 
killed, and a number of others wounded. The main body 
was dispersed, and a number of prisoners brought back to 
the American camp. 

On the 4th of April, a battery of three twelve-pounders 
and one eight-inch howitzer was opened at Point Levi, on 
the opposite bank of the St. Lawrence, below Quebec. 
This battery occupied the site of one of General Robert 
Monckton's batteries in 1759, and commanded the ship- 
ping in the river. On the 23d of April, another battery 
of one twenty-four-pounder, four twelve-pounders, two six- 
pounders, and two howitzers was completed on the Heights 
of Abraham behind the town, and within four hundred 
yards of its walls. There was another small battery of 
two guns and one howitzer, called Smith's battery, on the 
opposite bank of Charles river. The fire from these bat- 
teries upon the city, owing to the scanty supply of ammu- 
nition, was feeble and without any decided results. The 
enemy fired ten shots to their one, most of them from 
thirty-two and forty-two pounders. During most of this 
time, however. General Carleton and the garrison of Que- 
bec slept in their clothes, in constant anticipation of an 
attack from the Americans. 

General Wooster left Montreal for Quebec on the 27th 
of March, and reached there on the 1st of April, when 



32 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

he immediately assumed the command of the army. Ar- 
nold, always sensitive and impulsive, felt that he was not 
consulted by Wooster as he should have been. He was 
chagrined at the loss of his command, and discouraged by 
the weakness and deplorable condition of the army, which 
had not enabled him to do more than maintain the block- 
ade. His horse had fallen with him on the 2d, while 
riding along the lines, and injured his wounded leg afresh. 
This confined him to his quarters for ten days, and inten- 
sified his restlessness and dissatisfaction. He accordingly 
was relieved at his own request, and repaired on the 12th 
of April to Montreal. 

The supplies of ammunition, instead of being replen- 
ished, were steadily decreased by the fruitless bombard- 
ment of Quebec, and toward the close of April were re- 
duced to three or four tons of powder, and ten or twelve 
tons of shot. The other supplies diminished as well. 
By the 1st of May the commissariat did not contain ten 
days' provisions, and the adjacent country had been weU 
nigh exhausted of beef. 



CHAPTER III. 

Congress sends a Committee to Canada— Their Journey thither — Eeturn of Dr. 
Franklin and Eev. John Carroll — The Supervision of the Northern Army — 
General Charles Lee ordered to the Command in Canada — The Order re- 
voked, and General John Thomas sent in his stead — Further Reinforce- 
ments for the Army in Canada — Captain Ebenezer Stevens — Colonel John 
Patterson — The change of Feeling on the part of the Canadians towards the 
American cause — Arrival of General Thomas at Quebec — Condition of Af- 
fairs there — An UnsuccessfCil Attempt to send a Fire-ship into the enemy's 
shipping — A Council of War resolves upon a Retreat — Arrival of the Brit- 
ish ships Surprise, Martin, and Isis with Reinforcements — A Sortie by Sir 
Guy Carleton — Precipitate Retreat of the Americans — Aaron Burr — Re- 
covery of valuable Papers by Captain Jonathan Jones — Merciful Conduct 
of General Carleton — A Murder in Captain Jones' company — The Ameri- 
cans endeavor to make a Stand at Deschambault — A Council of War deter- 
mines to continue the Retreat to Sorel — A Skirmish below Deschambault — 
Mr. Acklam Bonfield — The retreating Americans reach the mouth of the 
Sorel — Dr. Senter establishes a Hospital for the sick at Montreal — Deplor- 
able Condition of the Troops at Sorel — Death of General Thomas. 

Congress, in its anxiety for the co-operation of Canada 
in the war against Great Britain, and its fears of the 
unfavorable effect which Montgomery's defeat might 
have upon the disposition of the Canadians, had, in 
February, 1776, appointed a committee of three of its 
members to undertake, at that severe season of the year, 
a mission of friendly intercession with the Canadians. 
This committee consisted of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, 
Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll, of CarroUton, and, 
in order to smooth the way to success with the Roman 
Catholics of that region, they requested the Rev. John 
Carroll, afterwards Archbishop of Baltimore, to accom- 
pany them. He did so, but without avail, for the clergy 

(33) 



34 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

were unanimous against the American cause. The com- 
missioners left New York in a sloop on the 2d of April, 
crossed the lakes in the ordinary flatboat covered with 
an awning, and furnished with beds which they brought 
with them from Philadelphia. They reached Montreal 
on the last day of April. The health of Dr. Franklin, 
who was then in his seventy-first year, had been im- 
paired by the hardships of the journey, and after a stay 
of ten days in Montreal, he returned home. John 
Carroll, finding his mission of conciliation hopeless, re- 
turned with him. The other members of the committee 
remained until the 1st of June. 

The northern department, though strictly under the 
command of Washington as commander-in-chief of the 
Continental Army, was, with his concurrence, considered 
as more particularly under the direction of Congress. 
The commanding officers were appointed by Congress. 
Washington never interfered, to use his own languag'e, 
" farther than merely to advise, and to give such aids as 
were within his power, on the requisitions of those 
officers." That these requisitions upon his advice and 
assistance were not only frequent but continuous, fully 
appears in the course of these pages. They turned to 
him for support in all their difficulties and embarrass- 
ments, and never without receiving from him his anxious 
and valuable aid. 

Early in February, 1776, General Charles Lee, who 
was then busily engaged in perfecting measures for the 
defense of New York City, was ordered by Congress to 
take command of the forces in Canada. He had been 
suffering from an attack of gout, and was very reluctant 
to face the cold of the north. He delayed his departure 
from New York, from week to week, on the plea of ill- 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 35 

health, until the beginning of March, when Congress re- 
voked the order, and directed him to take command of 
the Southern department. This change, though more 
consonant to the state of his health, was even more 
unacceptable to his querulous disposition, and he then 
complained that he could have rendered the cause more 
service in Canada, because he was familiar with the 
French language. "As I am the only general officer on 
the continent who can speak and think in French," he 
wrote to Washington, " I confess I think it would have 
been more prudent to have sent me to Canada, but I 
shall obey with alacrity and hope with success." 

General John Thomas, who commanded on Dorchester 
Heights the eventful night they were fortified, was pro- 
moted to the rank of major-general by Congress, and 
selected for the command in Canada in Lee's place. He 
was born at Marshfield, Massachusetts, in 1725, where 
he practiced medicine; was a surgeon in the military 
service in 1746; commanded a regiment of Massachu- 
setts provincials under Amherst, at Crown Point, in 
1760; and in August of that year participated in the 
capture of Montreal. He was a delegate to the Provin- 
cial Congress of Massachusetts, and was appointed brig- 
adier-general by Congress, June 22d, 1775, upon the 
first organization of the Continental Army. He was an 
officer of high character and ability, and had filled all 
the public trusts confided to him with credit and distinc- 
tion. He left Roxbury on the 21st of March, and 
reached Albany on the 28th, where he was delayed for 
a fortnight on account of the impassable condition of the 
lakes. It was the 26th of April before he reached Mon- 
treal, from whence he proceeded immediately to Quebec. 

In the meantime reinforcements for the army in Canada 



36 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

were being pushed forward as rapidly as circumstances in 
those early days would admit. St. Clair's Second Penn- 
sylvania Kegiment was ordered directly to Canada by 
Congress, but it was the middle of April before it reached 
the lakes, where it was further delayed by the breaking 
up of the ice. Harmar's, Lamar's, and Willet's com- 
panies, with Colonel De Haas, and Captain John Nelson's 
independent rifle company (which was attached to the 
First Pennsylvania Ilegiment), were detained at Lake 
George by the same cause, and did not join their com- 
rades of the regiment until after the retreat from Quebec. 
The other troops who were massed at the head of Lake 
George, waiting for the navigation to open, were part 
of Maxwell's Second New Jersey Ilegiment, the Con- 
necticut regiment of Continental troops commanded by 
Colonel Charles Burrell, and a company of Pennsylvania 
artillery, commanded by Captain Bernard Romans, a 
French officer of artillery and a skillful engineer, who 
had taken an active part, under Ethan Allen, in the cap- 
ture of Ticonderoga, in May, 1775. This last company 
was raised in Pennsylvania for the Continental service by 
an order of Congress made on the 8th of February, 1776. 
Bedel's New Hampshire and Porter's Massachusetts 
regiments had gone on before by the way of Number 
Four (Charlestown) and Onion river. Washington also 
sent two companies of Colonel Henry Knox's Massachu- 
setts regiment of artillery, under command of Captain 
Ebenezer Stevens.* Stevens had with him two mortars, 

« Ebenezer Stevens was born in Eoxbury, Mass., August 11th, 1751 . At an 
early age he joined Paddock's company of artillery, which furnished many 
excellent artillery officers to the Continental army, and took an active part 
in the destruction of tea in Boston harbor in 1773. After the battle of Lex- 
ington, he became first lieutenant of a company of artillery from Providence, 
R. I., and marched to Boston, where, in January, 1776, he became a captain in 
the Massachusetts regiment of artillery commanded by Colonel Henry Knox. 
In March, 1776, he was ordered to Canada, with two companies of the regiment 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 37 

shell, &c., and a company of artificers, and was especially 
enjoined by Colonel Knox, in his instructions, to carry 
the mortars and shell safely for effective use upon Que- 
bec. He cut a road across the Green mountains to Otter 
creek, a distance of forty miles, and descended the creek 
on rafts, which he constructed for that purpose. Wash- 
ington sent also five hundred barrels of provisions and 
other articles. 

Washington had arrived in New York on the 13th of 
April, from Boston. Before his arrival there Congress had 
recommended him to send four regiments from New York 
to reinforce the army in Canada. A day or two after 
his arrival he received a letter from Schuyler, dated Fort 
George, 12th of April, to the following effect : — " This 
moment the post from Canada is arrived. I enclose you 
copies of all the papers I received. The intelligence they 
afford is so alarming that I beg leave to repeat my wish 
that a considerable body of troops should be immediately 
sent up. I have stopped the courier at this place, and 
he goes back immediately to advise our friends in Canada 
that the troops now here will soon be in Canada ; and I 
have presumed to add, that they will be followed by three 
or four thousand more. This intelligence will keep up 
their spirits and intimidate our enemies." Washington's 
arrival had been preceded on the 30th of March by the 
regiments of John Patterson, William Bond, John Greaton, 
and Enoch Poor — all from his army at Cambridge. He 

and a party of artificers. He was promoted to the rank of major at Ticon- 
deroga, in October, 1776. His battery formed part of the garrison of Ticon- 
deroga when it was evacuated by St. Clair in 1777, and he subsequently took 
part in the events which preceded the surrender of Burgoyne. He was ap- 
pointed lieutenant-colonel of artillery, November 24th, 1778, and continued in ac- 
tive and distinguished service to the close of the war. He was present at the sur- 
render of Cornwallis and the evacuation of New York City, and was a member of 
the Assembly of New York, from that city, in 1800. He died Sepember 22d, 1823. 



38 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

at once sent them (in all about eleven hundred strong), 
under General William Thompson, of Pennsylvania, to 
reinforce the army in Canada. They sailed for Albany 
on the 21st of April, in sloops up the Hudson, which 
had been free from ice since the middle of March. With 
them also went a company of riflemen, a company of ar- 
tificers, and two engineers. 

Washington, under cover of a letter of his own, bearing 
date the 19th of April (in which he asked the opinion of 
Congress whether he should send further reinforcements 
to Canada), sent General Schuyler's letter with its en- 
closures to President Hancock, who immediately laid them 
before Congress. As the result of its deliberations. Con- 
gress ordered six additional regiments to be sent into 
Canada from the army at New York. In acknowledging 
the receipt of the papers, and communicating this reso- 
lution to Washington, the President of Congress wrote 
as follows : — " The important intelligence these papers 
contain makes it necessary that the most vigorous meas- 
ures should be adopted, as well to defend our troops 
against the Canadians themselves, as to insure success to 
the expedition. The Congress being determined on the 
reduction of Quebec and the security of that country, 
for reasons too obvious to be mentioned, have left nothing 
undone which can any ways contribute to that end." 

It will be observed that an entire change in the feel- 
ings of the Canadians is here referred to, and an entire 
change in the policy of Congress toward them. At the 
outset the Canadians manifested a very friendly disposi- 
tion toward their sister colonies, and were disposed to 
sympathize with them against the mother country. They 
afforded Montgomery ready and valuable assistance, but 
with the death of Montgomery, and the reverse of fortune. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 39 

came an entire change of feeling upon their part. They 
were thenceforward treated as enemies. This change of 
feeling was largely due to their Gallic temperament, which 
sympathizes only with success. They were quick to 
recognize the fact that the colonial force in Canada was 
wholly inadequate to protect them against Great Britain. 
But there were many other causes which, through the 
mismanagement of the American cause there, contributed 
to this estrangement, as well as many substantial griev- 
ances. Their clergy were neglected and in some instances 
ill-used. The peasantry were obliged by force to furnish 
supplies of different sorts without adequate compensa- 
tion, or upon certificates which were not honored, and 
which utterly destroyed the credit of Congress. 

Four of the six Pennsylvania regiments — Shee's, 
Wayne's, Magaw's, and Irvine's — had been sent to Wash- 
ington's army in the city of New York and vicinity. 
On the 26th of April, in obedience to the demands of 
Congress, Washington still further depleted his own little 
army by sending Captains Robertson's, Lacey's, and 
Church's companies of Anthony Wayne's regiment, Will- 
iam Irvine's, John Stark's, William Wind's, Elias Day- 
ton's, and James Reed's regiments, in all about twenty-five 
hundred men, under General John Sullivan, as additional 
reinforcements to Canada. Colonel Wayne accompanied 
this detachment, but the remaining companies of his 
regiment did not join him until after the retreat of the 
army to Ticonderoga early in July. Washington parted 
with these troops very reluctantly, for the safety of his 
own army would not allow of its being weakened by the 
loss of so many of his best men; but he yielded with his 
usual unselfishness to the resolution of Congress, sup- 
ported, as it was, by the popular clamor for additional 



40 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

support to the army in Canada, upon which the greater 
hopes and attention of Congress and the colonies were at 
that time fixed. To supply the places of the troops of 
which he was thus deprived, he was obliged to apply to 
New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey for the adoption 
of such measures as would enable their militia to march 
to his relief upon the appearance of the enemy or in 
any case of emergency. 

On the 1st of May, General Thomas arrived before 
Quebec, and immediately took steps to ascertain the exact 
condition of affairs. Out of the nineteen hundred men 
which then composed the army, he found only one thou- 
sand, including officers, who were fit for duty, and the 
enlistments of nearly one-third of these had expired on 
the 15th of April, which reduced his available force to 
about seven hundred, for many of those whose enlistments 
had expired refused to do duty. This small force was 
so distributed among the scattered posts, that not more 
than half of it could be relied upon to resist an attack 
made upon any point. There were no intrenchments 
and no breastworks, nor any tools with which to erect 
them. 

Provisions and ammunition were rapidly being ex- 
hausted. One hundred and fifty pounds of powder and 
six days' rations were all that remained. There was no 
immediate prospect of these scanty stores being replen- 
ished, and the French inhabitants were so much disaf- 
fected to the cause that no supplies could be obtained 
from them without the greatest difiiculty, and then only 
for cash in hard money. 

Under the direction of General Wooster a fire-ship had 
been constructed in the month of April, and at ten 
o'clock on the night of the 3d of May an attempt was 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 41 

made to send it up the river into the enemy's shipping. 
The tide ebbed, however, before the shipping was reached, 
and the combustibles, through some miscalculation, ig- 
nited before the time. The fire-ship burned to the 
water's edge, without doing any injury. The troops had 
been ordered out with their scaling-ladders and pikes to 
be prepared to take advantage of any confusion in the 
city which this expedition might occasion. " It is sup- 
posed," wrote Gen. Carleton to Lord Greorge Germain, 
" they intended a general assault had they succeeded in 
setting fire to the ships and lower town." But they were 
obliged to return still further discouraged to their quar- 
ters when the adventure had failed.* 

As early as the 18th of January, Washington had 
written to Schuyler that Quebec must be reduced before 
the winter was over, or the enemy would undoubtedly 

* John Jay, in a letter to Edward liutledge, dated New York, July 6th, 1776, 
wrote of this fire-ship as follows : — " I'll tell you a pretty story of Wooster. 
While he was smoking his pipe in the suburbs of Quebec, he took it into his 
head that he might do wonders with a fire-ship ; and with an imagination 
warmed by the blaze of the enemy's vessels, sent for a New York captain, who, 
it seems, understood the business of fire-ship building. Under the strongest 
injunction of secrecy, he communicated to him the important jilan, and ordered 
him to get the ship in readiness with all the dispatch and privacy in his 
power, wisely observing that if the enemy should get any intelligence of his 
design, they would carry their vessels out of the way of his fire-ship. The cap- 
tain accordingly set about preparing the material, &c., necessary for the exploit 
which was to heroize the General. Some short time after, Wooster was in- 
formed that the time for which the York troops were enlisted would expire 
in a day or two. He issued orders for them to parade at a certain time and 
place, and informed them that he would then and there make a speech to 
them, and a Ciceronian speech it was. ' My lads,' says he, ' I find your time 
is almost out, and maybe some of you think on going. But surely you won't 
leave me now ; you must try and stay a little longer. Don't think that I am 
lying here doing nothing. No, no ; you shall see a fine sight soon. I am 
busy building a fire-ship ; and as soon as she is ready, will burn all their 
vessels up.' The York troops, allured by the promise oi & feu de jo ie, stayed, 
and were disajipointed. Some renegade Frenchman remembered the speech, 
and told it as a secret to Governor Carleton. The vessels were put oiit of 
harm's way, and the Connecticut Alexander lost his passage in a fire-ship to 
the temple of fame." 



42 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

place a strong garrison there. The winter was now over, 
and Quebec had not been reduced. The time was rap- 
idly approaching when the threatened reinforcements 
would arrive. In the midst of this hopeless condition of 
things, General Thomas, despairing of his ability to reduce 
this most impregnable fortress on the continent of Amer- 
ica with the slender means at his command, called his 
officers together on the 5th. This council was composed 
of Generals Thomas and Wooster, Colonels Campbell, 
Maxwell, Porter, Nicholson, and Elmore, Lieutenant- 
Colonels Irvine, Brown, Wait, and Shreve, and Majors 
Morris and Lockwood. As the result of their delibera- 
tions, it was unanimously resolved to raise the siege, 
remove the sick immediately to Three Rivers, embark 
the cannon from the outposts as soon as possible, and 
fortify Jacques Cartier and Deschambault. 

Preparations were at once begun to carry out these 
resolutions. The river was still practicably closed to 
navigation, and it was not believed that the British rein- 
forcements could arrive so early in the spring. The little 
Colonial army, whose whole available force at that time 
was barely sufficient to make one full regiment, had been 
encouraged to believe that reinforcements would reach 
them in time to bring the campaign to a successful issue. 
Week after week had rolled round, and they still waited 
impatiently for these reinforcements to arrive. The 
dreary monotony of camp-life, exposed to the rigors of a 
Canadian winter, grcAV more and more unbearable as the 
uneventful days passed by. There was neither amuse- 
ment nor recreation to divert, nor the excitement of 
battle to stir up, their jaded spirits. This inactivity had 
been the bane of their existence. Despairing of the 
arrival of reinforcements, they looked anxiously for the 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 43 

arrival of General Thomas. He came, fully advised of 
the military situation to the south, and, after looking 
around him, saw that nothing was left but retreat. 
When this necessary step, which had been too long de- 
layed, was finally determined upon, it was greatly em- 
barrassed by the unfriendly inhabitants, who refused to 
furnish transportation or any other assistance, but, so far 
as possible, kept themselves concealed. 

Meanwhile, the ship Surprise, Captain Lindsay, and 
sloop Martin, which had sailed from Plymouth on the 
20th of March, and the frigate Isis, which left Portland 
March 11th, with reinforcements, after having encoun- 
tered great difficulties with the ice in the St. Lawrence, 
arrived below Quebec on the 5th of May, the same day 
the Americans had determined upon their retreat. The 
Surprise reached Quebec at daylight on the 6th, ''to the 
inconceivable joy of all who saw her," wrote a British 
officer who was in Quebec at the time. " The news soon 
reached every pillow in town, people half-dressed ran 
down to the grand battery to feast their eyes with the 
sight of a ship of war displaying the union flag." The 
population during the siege was about five thousand. The 
Martin and Isis, of fifty-four guns, came up shortly after 
with the same tide. Two companies of the twenty-ninth 
regiment and about two hundred marines were landed, 
and these, with the Royal Highland emigrants, all the 
British and French militia, and the artificers from Hali- 
fax, numbering about eight hundred in all, marched out 
of the gates of St. John and St. Louis about 12 o'clock, 
under the command of General Carleton, in two divisions, 
six columns deep, with four brass six-pounders. They 
marched with a quick pace until they reached the 
Heights of Abraham, where they formed in line of battle, 



44 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

with the Royal Fusileers and Highland emigrants on 
the right, the British militia on the left, and the French 
militia and all the marines in the centre. The greatest 
number of Americans that could be collected upon the 
Plains of Abraham to oppose this force of the British 
on such short notice, was about two hundred and fifty 
men with one piece of artilery. The British advanced 
to the attack. But few shots were exchanged, and ob- 
serving the overwhelming force of the enemy, a retreat 
was ordered by General Thomas, which took place with 
the greatest precipitation and confusion. The Colonial 
forces were so scattered at the different posts, that it was 
impossible to bring them off in any order, and the men 
made their escape as best they could. The detachments 
at Point Levi and Charlebourg were obliged to make a 
weary and long detour through the woods to avoid the 
enemy, whose ships had advanced up the river and cut 
them off from the main body. There was no time left 
to save anything. The dinner which had been prepared 
for General Thomas at Holland House, near the Heights 
of Abraham, was left untouched. All their cannon, five 
hundred stand of small arms, military and hospital stores, 
clothing, orderly books and papers, scaling ladders and 
petards, fell into the hands of the British. It was as 
much as the troops could do to save themselves. With 
this retreating army was Aaron Burr, then only twenty 
years of age. He had accompanied Arnold's expedition 
to Canada by the way of the Kennebec as a volunteer, 
and had been made by Montgomery one of his aides-de- 
camp. 

In the haste and confusion of the retreat, valuable 
papers were forgotten at headquarters which it was im- 
portant should not fall into the enemy's hands. Captain 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 46 

Jonathan Jones volunteered to return for them. His 
services were promptly accepted, and at imminent risk 
of capture he went back, secured the papers, and re- 
turned safely with them. 

The British did not attempt to follow the retreating 
Americans, but remained upon the Plains of Abraham 
until four o'clock in the afternoon, when they returned 
to Quebec. 

The Surprise and Martin sailed up the river in pur- 
suit, and captured an armed schooner carrying four six 
and six three pounders. They also recaptured the ship 
Gaspe, which had been taken from the British by the 
American forces during the winter. Most of the Ameri- 
can vessels and boats were run on shore and burnt. The 
crews made good their escape up the river in their boats, 
the British ships having come to anchor when the tide 
turned. The cannon which had been loaded in boats 
preparatory to the retreat of the army were captured, 
and nearly two tons of powder, which was on its way to 
camp in charge of Lieutenant-Colonel William Allen, of 
the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, fell into the hands of 
the British forces. 

One hundred of those who were sick with the small- 
pox made their escape with their comrades. All the rest 
were left behind to find merciful treatment at the hands 
of Sir Guy Carleton, who issued the following proclama- 
tion : — 

** Whereas, I am informed that many of his Majesty's deluded 
subjects of the neighboring provinces, laboring under wounds and 
divers disorders, are dispersed in the adjacent woods and parishes, 
and are in great danger of perishing for want of proper assistance. 
All captains and other officers of militia are hereby commanded to 
make dihgent search for all such distressed persons, and afford them 
all necessary relief and convey them to the general hospital, where 



46 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

proper care shall be taken of them. All reasonable expenses which 
shall be incurred in complying with this order shall be paid by the 
receiver-general. 

" And lest a consciousness of past offenses should deter such mb- 
erable wretches from receiving that assistance which their distressed 
situation may require, I hereby make known to them, that as soon 
as their health is restored they shall have free liberty to return to 
their respective provinces. 

" Given under my hand and seal of arms at the castle of St. Louis, 
in the city of Quebec, this tenth day of May, 1776, in the sixteenth 
year of the reign of our sovereign lord, George the Third. 

"Guy Carleton."* 

Afterwards, when these prisoners were convalescent, 
they were brought before General Carleton in squads, 
when he addressed them as follows : — " My lads, why did 
you come to disturb a man in his government that never 
did you any harm in his life? I never invaded your 
property, nor sent a single soldier to distress you. Come, 
my boys ! you are in a very painful situation, and not 
able to go home with any confort. I must provide you 
with shoes, stockings, and good warm waistcoats. I must 
give you some good victuals to carry you home. Take 
care, my lads, that you don't come here again, lest I 
should not treat you so kindly." 

Captain Jonathan Jones' company was in the rear of 
the retreating Americans, and reached Point aux Trem- 

*SiB Gtry Carleton was born at Strabane, Ireland, in 1724, and became 
lieutenant-colonel in the Guards in 1748. He accompanied General Amherst 
to America, in 1758, and distinguished himself at the siege of Quebec. He was 
promoted to the rank of colonel, and Avas conspicuous for his bravery at the 
siege of Havana, in 1762. In 1772 he was created major-general and appointed 
British governor of Quebec. In 1775 he was appointed commander of the British 
forces in Canada. In 1781 he succeeded Sir Henry Clinton as commander-in-chief 
of the British forces in America, and so continued until after the treaty of 
peace. In 1786 he was again appointed governor of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and 
New Brunswick, and was raised to the peerage, as a reward for his distin- 
guished services, under the title of Lord Dorchester. He died in 1808 at the 
age of eighty-five. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 47 

bles (Aspen-tree Point), twenty-four miles above Quebec, 
on the 7th. While passing that point Corporal Kelly, of 
his company, was assassinated by Brice Dunlap, one of 
his private soldiers, whom Kelly had been obliged to 
punish for breach of discipline. Kelly's body was hastily 
buried, a volley fired over his grave, and the retreat con- 
tinued. All the other troops but a few stragglers had 
gone on ahead. Dunlap was kept under arrest until 
after the army had retired to Ticonderoga, when measures 
were taken to send him back to the civil authorities for 
punishment. 

The first stand the forlorn and retreating Continental 
troops attemped to make was at Deschambault, forty-five 
miles above Quebec, where the greater part of them were 
concentrated, after forced marches, on the 7th of May. 
They had very little ammunition, no clothing but that 
on their backs, and only provisions enough to subsist 
them for two or three days. Here they were reinforced 
by Colonel Burrell, with part of his Connecticut regiment, 
which was stopped by the retreat on its way to join the 
camp before Quebec. A council of war was immediately 
held, when it was resolved, with only three dissenting 
votes out of fifteen, that it was not advisable for the 
army in its then forlorn condition to attempt to make a 
stand below the mouth of the Sorel. This council was 
composed of Generals Thomas and Wooster, Colonels 
Burrell, Campbell, Elmore, and Livingston, Lieutenant- 
Colonels Irvine, Shreve, Buel, Brown, Antell, Allen, and 
Williams, and Majors Morris, Sedgwick, and Ray. Lieut- 
enant-Colonels Antell, Allen, and Williams voted against 
the retreat. Deschambault was a strong position, and 
General Thomas, though conscious of his inability to hold 
it with the resources then at his command, was reluctant 



48 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

to abandon it until he had exhausted every possible 
hope of succor. He sent an officer at once to Montreal 
for provisions, reinforcements, intrenching tools, boats, 
and assistance to take off the sick. While he waited 
with anxiety for these, his situation was daily rendered 
more distressing by the conduct of the Connecticut troops 
who had lately joined him. Alarmed at the loathsome 
cases of small-pox which confronted them on every hand, 
they had secretly inoculated themselves, in disobedience 
of orders, and thereby contributed greatly to the spread 
of the disease. 

When General Thomas' call for assistance reached the 
Commissioners of Congress at Montreal, they at once ex- 
pressed themselves against any attempt to hold Descham- 
bault, believing that in the present situation of affairs a 
retreat to St. Johns and Isle aux Noix was inevitable. 
So thoroughly convinced were they that the retreat must 
continue, and that all hope of maintaining a foothold in 
Canada was gone, that they advised General Schuyler 
not to forward Sullivan's brigade (which was detained 
until boats could be built for them), as no further sup- 
plies could be drawn from Canada, and reinforcements 
could only increase their distress. But Arnold did not 
agree with them. He was for keeping Deschambault at 
all hazards, and the commissioners yielded to his supe- 
rior judgment in such matters and his familiar knowledge 
of the country. Captain Bent and a lieutenant, with two 
hundred and fifty men, were dispatched from Sorel to the 
assistance of the troops at Deschambault; but General 
Thomas, after waiting six days for the much-needed re- 
lief in vain, found it utterly impossible to delay the 
evacuation of Deschambault longer, and he consequently 
continued his retreat to Three Rivers. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 49 

The Americans had been pursued as far as Descham- 
bault by a British frigate of thirty-six guns, a ship of 
twenty guns, and the schooner captured from the Ameri- 
cans. Eight boat-loads of men landed from these vessels 
four miles below Deschambault on the 9th. General 
Thomas detailed the First Pennsylvania Regiment to at- 
tack them, supported by a reserve of one hundred and 
fifty men. After a slight skirmish the British retreated 
to their boats and returned to the ships before the re- 
serves had come up. 

Colonel Maxwell, with a few New Jersey troops, had 
been left as an outpost at Jacques Cartier (also a strong 
military position), but finding himself unable to hold it, 
he joined General Thomas at Deschambault on the 12th. 

When the Americans began their retreat from Desch- 
ambault, they had but three pounds of meal and not an 
ounce of meat to each man. After another weary and 
dispiriting march they reached Three Rivers on Wednes- 
day, the 15th of May, where they were joined by the 
artillery companies of Captains Stevens and Eustis, 
under the command of the former, who had proceeded 
thus far on their way to Quebec when they learned of 
the retreat. At this point General Thomas felt that he 
could safely disencumber himself of the sick, who had 
greatly retarded his movements, and hasten on to the 
mouth of the Sorel, where, with the reinforcements he 
expected, he could entrench himself and resist the fur- 
ther progress of the enemy. He accordingly left the 
sick at Three Rivers, under the merciful care of Mr. 
Bonfield, until he could provide means for their removal 
to a place of greater comfort and security, and detached 
Colonel Maxwell, with his Jersey troops, for their pro- 
tection. 



60 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Mr. Acklam Bonfield was a prosperous merchant of 
Quebec, who early espoused the patriot cause. Such 
was the measure of his devotion, that he abandoned his 
fortune and family, and took his place of usefulness in 
the camp of the Colonial troops. He was untiring in 
such works of mercy as that just recited. He remained 
with the army until after its retreat from Canada, when 
he repau'ed to Philadelphia. He died at that place April 
25th, 1777, at the age of thirty-seven, and was buried in 
Christ Church yard. 

General Thomas, with the troops from before Quebec, 
reached the mouth of the Sorel on Friday, the seven- 
teenth day of May, where he found General Arnold, 
General Thompson with Greaton's and part of Bond's 
regiments, and Colonel St. Clair with the Second Penn- 
sylvania. These troops had arrived there only the evening 
before. General Thompson's brigade took with it the 
last boat on the lakes, and General Schuyler was strain- 
ing all his energies in the construction of others, at the 
rate of six to eight per day, in which to forward General 
SulUvan's brigade. General Thomas at once dispatched 
Dr. Isaac Senter to Montreal, to open a hospital for the 
sick, for which purpose General Arnold assigned him a 
large house at that place belonging to the East India 
Company. General Thomas had the sick removed from 
Three Rivers to this hospital, and on the 20th was 
obliged, on account of the want of provisions, to order 
Colonel Maxwell to abandon Three Rivers and join him 
at Sorel with his Jersey troops. Maxwell entertained 
the vain hope of being able to hold Three Rivers, which 
possessed military advantages, until the arrival of rein- 
forcements should check the disasters of the campaign 
at that point, and enable them to regain the ground they 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 51 

had already lost below. He therefore obeyed General 
Thomas' instructions with great reluctance. 

Sorel was a low, unhealthy place, almost upon a level 
with the water's edge. Here it was determined to con- 
centrate all the available troops, repair as well as possi- 
ble their broken fortunes, and make a desperate effort to 
regain some of the ground that had been lost down the 
river. The troops were supported in the river by two 
gondolas, one mounting three twenty-four pounders, the 
other, one twelve-pounder, and several armed bateaux. 

Though determined in spirit, the outlook to the troops 
then assembled at Sorel was a most gloomy one. Their 
condition was deplorable. " The army here," wrote 
the Commissioners of Congress to Schuyler, "is suffer- 
ing for want of provisions, particularly pork. None, or 
next to none, is to be procured in Canada. For God's 
sake send off pork, or our troops will be greatly dis- 
tressed for want of provisions." On the 17th of May 
they wrote to Congress, "We want words to describe the 
confusion that prevails through every department relating 
to the army. Your troops live from hand to mouth. 
They have of late been put on half allowance in several 
places, and in some they have been without pork for 
three or four days past," and on the 27th they wrote 
again to Congress, " The army is in a distressed con- 
dition, and is in want of the most necessary articles, 
meat, bread, shoes, and stockings." 

They were literally in rags, broken, disorganized, sick, 
hungry, and disheartened. Half their number were down 
with small-pox and other diseases. General Thompson 
had brought with him all the pork there was at the posts 
above Albany, amounting to about two hundred pounds. 
The amount of meat and flour required for the daily 



62 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

sustenance of the army then in Canada was estimated 
at twelve thousand pounds of each. No provisions could 
be obtained in Canada, as Congress was entirely without 
credit, and was already indebted to the inhabitants in 
the sum of |1 5,000. Not even the use of a cart 
could be procured without ready money or force. The 
men were without pay. Congress being $30,000 in 
their debt, and there were not eight tons of gunpowder 
in the whole province of Canada. " One thousand 
weight of lead," wrote General Thompson, "fifty quires 
of cartridge paper, and fifteen pounds of thread, were 
necessary to furnish twenty-four rounds of ammunition 
to each man." A few peas were the only vegetables 
that even the officers were able to obtain. With diffi- 
culty the commissioners procured three hundred tents 
and two hundred and fifty camp-kettles for them at 
Montreal. They were, as General Thomas described it, 
"destitute of almost everything necessary to render their 
lives comfortable or even tolerable," and with no pros- 
pect of speedy relief. " Our soldiers," wrote the Com- 
missioners of Congress to General Thomas from Montreal, 
on the 26th of May, "will be soon reduced to the dread- 
ful alternative of starving or of plundering the inhabitants. 
The latter will surely happen, if our troops should not be 
supplied with bread in a regular way." 

On the 21st of May, while this distressing state of 
affairs in the army was at its height. Major- General 
Thomas was seized with small-pox. He had never had 
the disease, and was, therefore, exposed to great danger 
from the first ; but he had refused to be inoculated, be- 
cause, for the efficiency of the service, he had been 
obliged to prohibit inoculation among the troops, and he 
would not avail himself of any security which his duty 



/ 




V'"'-' '' "^^^^^^^01 '^'y//r 




<U>4^y^^it^ 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 53 

compelled him to deny to them. Only the day before 
he had complained bitterly to the Commissioners of the 
disobedience of orders by the troops in inoculating them- 
selves. He relinquished the command to Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Thompson, and was removed to Chamblee, where he 
died on the second day of June. In his death, the cause 
of American liberty, then in its infancy, received one of 
its earliest and greatest sacrifices, and one which the cir- 
cumstances of his death rendered peculiarly distressing. 
Had his life been spared, his name would now fill a 
larger page in his country's history, but that record, 
bright as it might have become, could not have increased 
the gratitude which his countrymen owe to his memory. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Arnold sends Troops to the Cedars — Captain Forster's Party Attempts to Dis- 
lodge them — Colonel Bedel Abandons his Post — Major Henry Sherburne 
sets out with Keinforcements — Delays in his March — Disgraceful Surrender 
by Major Butterfield — The Conduct of Bedel and Butterfield Condemned by 
Washington — They are Court-martialed and Dismissed the Service — Dis- 
astrous Defeat of Sherburne's Party — Barbarous Treatment of the Prisoners 
— The Loss on both sides — Indignation throughout the Colonies at the 
Ill-treatment of the Prisoners — Arnold sets out to their Relief — The Com- 
missioners of Congress send the First Pennsylvania Regiment to Reinforce 
Arnold — They Purchase Thirty Loaves of Bread for them in Montreal — 
Forster, advised of their Approach, Retreats — The Pursuit — Arnold De- 
mands a Surrender of the Prisoners — A Council of War decides against a 
Surprise — An Exchange of Prisoners and an Armistice agreed upon — Retreat 
of Forster's Party above the Cedars. 

Late in April, General Arnold ordered Colonel Tim- 
othy Bedel, with about three hundred and ninety men 
of his own New Hampshire and Burrell's Connecticut 
Regiment of Continental troops, to take post on a point 
of land called the Cedars, forty-three miles above Mon- 
treal, on the St. Lawrence, " to prevent any goods being 
sent to the upper country, and to guard against a sur- 
prise from the enemy or their Indians." They had two 
pieces of artillery, and were well intrenched behind 
picket lines and breastworks, in a strong position com- 
manding a narrow pass on the line of communication be- 
tween Montreal and the upper country. 

When information of Bedel's movements reached the 
British station above, a party of troops descended the 

(54) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 55 

St. Lawrence from Oswegatchie (now Ogdensburg), to 
dislodge him. This motley force consisted of five hund- 
red savages, chiefly Mohawks and Caughnawagas, under 
Joseph Brant, the great captain of the Six Nations, one 
hundred Canadians, and forty regulars of the eighth 
regiment of foot (Armstrong's). The whole was com- 
manded by Captain George Forster of the eighth regi- 
ment. 

On Wednesday, the 15th of May, Bedel was advised 
by two friendly Indians of the approach of this party, 
which was then within nine miles of his post. Instead 
of preparing himself to resist the attack, he immediately 
turned over the command to Major Isaac Butterfield and 
hastened back to Montreal, under the specious pretext 
of obtaining reinforcements for the post. General Arnold 
was absent at Sorel when Bedel reached Montreal, and 
he therefore made his statement of the condition of affairs 
at the Cedars to Colonel Patterson,* who had been ordered 
with his regiment to Montreal as soon as he reached St. 
Johns from the south. Colonel Patterson immediately 
sent Bedel's report to General Arnold at Sorel, and de- 
tached one hundred and fifty men from his own regiment 
to reinforce the post at the Cedars, which Major Henry 
Sherburne volunteered to command. 

*JOHN Patterson was born in New Britain, Conn., in 1744, and removed 
to Lenox, Mass., in 1774. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of 
Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775, and commanded a company of minute men of Berk- 
shire county, which marched for Boston the day after they received news of 
the battle of Lexington. He commanded a regiment at the battle of Bunker's 
Hill. After the evacuation of Boston by the British, he marched with his 
regiment to New York, and from there under General Thompson to Canada. 
He afterwards took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general by Congress February 21st, 1777. He was at the 
battles of Saratoga and Monmouth. He was a lawyer by profession, and after 
the war removed to Lisle, Broome county. New York, where he became chief 
justice of the county court. He was a member of the New York Legislature 
and Constitutional Convention, and a member of Congress in 1803-5. He died 
at Lisle, July 19th, 1808. 



56 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Sherburne left Montreal with his detachment on the 
16th of May, but was unable to ascend Lake St. Louis, 
on account of the difficulty he experienced in procuring 
boats, until the 18th. On that day he landed his force 
on a point at the head of the lake, nine miles below the 
Cedars. From here he sent out Captain Theodore Bliss 
with a party to procure transportation. Bliss was cap- 
tured when two miles out, but succeeded in advising 
Sherburne of his capture, and also of the fact that a 
force of five hundred Canadians and savages intended to 
attack him that night. Sherburne, relying upon the 
truth of this information, which proved to be utterly 
without foundation, re-embarked his men and provisions 
and brought them safely back to Montreal Island, arriving 
there about two o'clock in the morning. During the 
course of the same day, he endeavored to ascend the 
lake again, but was prevented by adverse winds, one 
boat only, containing Captain Ebenezer Sullivan (a 
brother of the general) and party, having succeeded in 
reaching the head of the lake. Upon landing. Captain 
Sullivan compelled a priest to accompany him to the 
place where Bliss was confined, and secured his release. 

The valuable time thus lost by Sherburne prevented 
him from reaching the Cedars before the post was be- 
sieged by Forster's party. If he had not acted so 
promptly upon the fiilse intelligence which Bliss had sent 
him, or if circumstances had permitted him to make 
better use of the time, the history of the Revolution 
might have been spared the shame of the affair at the 
Cedars, and the subsequent capture of his own force 
have been averted. 

On Friday, the 17th, Captain Forster had invested the 
post at the Cedars, and for two days kept up a loose, 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 57 

scattering fire, which did no injury, except the wound- 
ing of one man. Butterfield, who was paralyzed with 
fear, had twenty rounds of cartridges to each of his men, 
fifteen pounds of musket-balls, thirty rounds of cartridges 
for one field-piece and five for another, half a barrel of 
gunpowder, and proAdsions for twenty or thirty days. 
He saw the ineffectual fire of the enemy, and knew that 
reinforcements were near at hand. Yet when Forster 
demanded a surrender, he ignominiously complied, against 
the protestations of his officers and men, on Sunday, the 
19 th instant, without conditions, and without firing a shot. 
Rather than brave the possibilities of falling into the 
hands of a savage enemy, which they were not slow to 
threaten him with, he preferred to incur the contempt of 
his companions and the obloquy of posterity. His con- 
duct, as well as that of Bedel, was promptly condemned 
by Washington in a letter to Schuyler. " They have 
certainly acted a part," he wrote, " deserving the most 
exem^^lary notice. I hope you will take proper meas- 
ures, and have good courts appointed to bring them and 
every other officer that has been, or shall be, guilty of 
misconduct to trial, that they may be punished according 
to their ofi'enses. Our misfortunes at the Cedars were 
occasioned, as it is said, entirely by their base and cow- 
ardly behavior; and can not be ascribed to any other 
cause." They were put under arrest, and sent to Sorel 
for trial, but, owing to the retreat of the army, they were 
not court-martialed until the 1st of August, at Ticonde- 
roga (that being the earliest day when the condition of 
the army would admit of their being called to account). 
They were both sentenced to be cashiered and incapaci- 
tated forever from holding a commission in the army of 
the United States, and ordered to depart the camp imme- 



58 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

diately. " I ordered the sentences to be inserted in the 
general orders," wrote General Gates to John Hancock, 
"and hope the disgraceful example made of the offenders 
will deter others from committing so flagrant a crime. 
Perhaps a httle more severity in the court-martial would 
have effected this in a stronger manner, but severity is 
not the characteristic of our military courts any more 
than it is our military law." The regiment upon which 
these unworthy officers had brought this misfortune was 
commanded to the end of the campaign by Lieut. Colonel 
Joseph Wait. 

Sherburne, with the rest of his party, ascended the 
lake again on the 20th, landed at Quinze Chiens, and 
marched about noon (his force being then reduced to about 
one hundred) to within four miles of the Cedars. He 
had no tidings of the fate of that post. Thus far he had 
encountered no sign of the enemy, though his knowledge 
of Indian warfare led him to expect them in every thicket 
and behind every tree. At this point, however, traces of 
them were discovered, but before he could improve the 
warning, a murderous volley, accompanied with the wild 
whoops of the savages, was poured into his ranks by the 
treacherous enemy concealed in overpowering numbers 
in the woods. Sherburne's column faltered for a moment 
under the galling fire, but immediately rallied, and a fierce 
and bloody contest ensued. The Americans fought under 
the greatest disadvantages, but they maintained their 
ground with courage and desperation for an hour. Every 
one of their number who fell cost the enemy dearly. 
The odds against which they contended were four to one, 
and it soon became apparent that they were in great dan- 
ger of being surrounded and captured. Seeing this, 
Sherburne brought off his men in good order, and for 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 59 

forty minutes longer kept up a running fire with his as- 
sailants. Of course, their progress was slow. A party 
of the enemy that was disengaged was easily able to out- 
flank them and secure a bridge over which they were 
obhged to pass in their retreat. When they reached this 
all hope of further resistance was gone, and they were 
obliged to surrender. 

The total loss of the Americans in this engagement 
was twenty-eight killed, wounded, and missing. That of 
the enemy was twenty-one killed, including a chief war- 
rior of the Seneca tribe. The whole force was marched 
off as prisoners of war to the Cedars, amid loud lamen- 
tations of the Indians for the loss of their chief. 

The prisoners were at once subjected to the most bar- 
barous treatment, were stripped of almost all their cloth- 
ing, and many were tomahawked and scalped. One, while 
still retaining life and sensation, was roasted by the sav- 
ages. Two others were exposed on an island naked and 
starving, where they were afterwards discovered by the 
troops under Arnold and taken off. During the whole of 
their imprisonment, they were furnished with inadequate 
food of an inferior quality. 

These outrages at the Cedars awakened great indig- 
nation throughout the colonies. " The inhuman treat- 
ment of the whole and murder of part of our people after 
their surrender and capitulation," wrote Washington from 
New York, "was certainly a flagrant violation of that faith 
which ought to be held sacred by all civilized nations, 
and was founded in the most savage barbarity." The 
truth of these outrages was subsequently established in 
an investigation by Congress, which body, upon the 
strength of them, refused to ratify a cartel which Arnold 
had made with Forster for the exchange of the prisoners. 



60 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

and demanded the surrender of their guilty perpetrators, 
in order that they might be punished. 

Arnold, Avho was at Sorel when he received the intelli- 
gence brought by Colonel Bedel from the Cedars, imme- 
diately repaired to Montreal, and taking with him one 
hundred men, set out for the Cedars. On the march he 
received intelligence of Butterfield's surrender and the 
capture of Sherburne and his party. He thereupon 
halted at La Chine, twelve miles above Montreal, and in- 
trenched himself in a spacious stone magazine. The 
garrison of Fort St. Ann, at the head of Montreal Island, 
under the command of Captain Young, upon learning of 
these disasters, and that the Indians were about landing 
on the island, abandoned the fort with its stores and pro- 
visions, and retreated to La Chine, where they joined 
General Arnold. Arnold was also reinforced by part of 
Greaton's regiment and a company of Reed's regiment, 
under command of Captain James Wilkinson. 

The Commissioners of Congress learned at Sorel, on the 
22d of May, of these increasing disasters above Montreal, 
and immediately ordered the First Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, under Colonel De Haas, in all about four hundred 
and ten in number, including Nelson's rifle company, up 
to Montreal, to reinforce General Arnold. They reached 
Montreal on the evening of the 24th, and remained there 
until the following evening at six o'clock, when they 
moved forward for La Chine. Some idea of the destitute 
condition of the regiment may be formed from the cir- 
cumstance that the Commissioners were obliged to pur- 
chase out of their private means thirty loaves of bread 
from their baker, to feed them upon while they were in 
Montreal, because they could not obtain food from any 
other quarter. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 61 

On that Saturday night, during which they made their 
brave march, hungry and ragged, to relieve General 
Arnold, he was in immediate anticipation of an attack from 
Forster's motley forces, who had with them the two pieces 
of artillery taken at the Cedars, and who were so much em- 
boldened by the easy victories they had just achieved 
that they beheved Montreal was at their mercy. The 
drums of Forster's party were distinctly heard at La 
Chine, and Arnold's little force was out under arms until 
10 P. M., prepared to receive them. At that hour they 
doubled the guard, and repaired to their quarters to 
sleep on their arms, momentarily expecting an attack. 
Forster's spies, however, had informed him of the ap- 
proach of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, which 
caused him to retreat with precipitation. The cause of 
this retreat was not understood by Arnold's forces until 
the arrival of the First Pennsylvania about six o'clock 
on the following morning. Colonel De Haas immediately 
set off with his regiment, though weaned with their 
night's march, to endeavor to cut off the retreat of Fors- 
ter's party before they should be able to cross to the 
main land; and General Arnold prepared to follow him 
as soon as he could get his troops in marching order. 

The First Pennsylvania Regiment reached Fort St. 
Ann, at the upper end of Montreal Island, on the same 
afternoon, at three o'clock, in time to see Forster's rear 
guard landing on the opposite shore. It was an hour 
later before Arnold with his troops got up, and there was 
another hour's delay occasioned by the difficulty experi- 
enced by the bateaux in stemming St. Ann's rapids. 
The stores and provisions were then unloaded from the 
boats with the greatest zeal and promptitude, and the 
troops eagerly embarked in the boats until they were 



62 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 



weighed down to the water's edge. Arnold's canoe was 
paddled by four Iroquois Indians. The river was wide 
and unruffled. They steered their course for the white 
village and spire of Quinze Chiens, and as they dropped 
down with the rapid current they were almost afraid to 
move for fear their crowded boats would be swamped. 
There were no signs of the enemy until they approached 
the opposite shore where they intended to land. As 
they approached this spot a fire was suddenly opened 
upon them from a masked battery — consisting of the two 
brass six-pounders which Butterfield had surrendered 
at the Cedars (Forster's party had no other artillery), 
and from small arms along the whole line. 

The stillness of that beautiful Sunday evening in May 
was also broken by the unearthly yells of the savages. 
The enemy was intrenched in a strong position around 
the church. It was just after sunset, and the rattling of 
musketry, the booming of the cannon, the war-whoops of 
the savages, and the splashing of the balls in the river, 
which more than once sprinkled them with water, and 
the slightest touch of which would have sunk them, made 
their position a very perilous and thrilHng one. It was 
impossible for them to land under such a fire. It was 
impossible for them to return it with any effect from 
their boats, and it was becoming too dark to see the 
enemy. They were unacquainted with the ground ; the 
men were greatly fatigued (the First Pennsylvania 
having been under forced marches for twenty-four hours), 
and General Arnold thought it prudent to order them to 
return to St. Ann's, where they landed about eight 
o'clock. 

Arnold had sent a number of Caughnawaga Indians 
to demand the surrender of the prisoners, threatening as 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 63 

an alternative to sacrifice every Indian that fell into his 
hands, and to destroy their towns. These threats were 
received with defiance. They refused, and declared that 
they would massacre every prisoner they held, if any 
attack was made upon them. This was a trying ordeal 
for Arnold and his men. They were in sufficient force 
to punish the enemy, and the men were clamorous for 
vengeance. But such was the perilous situation of the 
prisoners that they were obliged to hesitate. 

" I was torn by the conflicting passions of revenge 
and humanity," writes Arnold, "a sufficient force to take 
ample revenge raging for action, urged me on one hand, 
and humanity for five hundred unhappy wretches, who 
were upon the point of being sacrificed if our vengeance 
was not delayed, plead equally strong on the other." 

A council of war, including all the captains, was called 
as soon as they returned to St. Ann's, at which Arnold 
proposed a surprise of Forster and the Indians, under 
cover of the night, by ascending the Grand river far 
enough to get in their rear. This proposition was op- 
posed, however, by Colonels De Haas and Moses Hazen, 
who were satisfied, from their experience, that the 
Indians were too vigilant to be surprised, and the propo- 
sition was finally, after much debate, voted down by a 
majority of the council. 

The council lasted until midnight, and at two o'clock 
in the morning the officer of the day announced the ap- 
proach of Lieutenant Parke bearing a flag of truce. He 
was permitted to land and brought into camp articles 
which had been entered into by Major Sherburne and 
Captain Forster for an exchange of the prisoners. It 
was proposed in these articles that the Colonial troops 
should be liberated upon their parole, not to serve again 



64 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

against the king s forces, and that the British troops 
should be liberated without any restraint. This was re- 
jected by Arnold, and it was finally arranged that the 
prisoners should be exchanged upon equal terms. Those 
in Forster's hands, consisting of Majors Butterfield and 
Sherburne, nine captains, twenty lieutenants, and four 
hundred and forty-three soldiers, were to be sent to with- 
in one league of Caughnawaga, from thence to St. Johns 
and their homes. Six days were to be allowed for this 
purpose, and hostilities were to cease in the meantime. 
As there were not an equal number of prisoners in Ar- 
nold's hands, it was stipulated that Captains Sullivan 
and Bliss of Patterson's regiment, John Stevens of 
Burrell's and Ebed Greene of Bedel's regiment, should 
be sent to Quebec as hostages, until an equal number 
of British prisoners should be released. 

Before this flag of truce was sent, Sherburne was 
carried by Forster into the council of the Indians, then 
sitting, who told him that it was a mercy never before 
shown in their wars, that they had put to death so few 
of their prisoners, but that he must expect, and so in- 
form General Arnold, that they would certainly kill 
every man who thereafter fell into their hands. When 
the American prisoners were sent from the British camp, 
in pursuance of the above cartel, they were treated with 
every possible indignity by the British and savages. 
Balls of mud were fired at them amid their jeers, and 
the last detachment was fired upon with bullets. 

Arnold set out in the evening for Montreal, after con- 
cluding this armistice, leaving Colonel De Haas in com- 
mand. Some skirmishing was kept up, in which private 
Daniel McCuUoh, of Captain Nelson's company, was killed 
on the 29th instant. The enemy abandoned Quinze 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 65 

Chiens, and retreated above the Cedars, and Colonel 
De Haas fell back to La Chine on Thursday, the 30th. 

Arnold left orders with Colonel De Haas to cross the 
Grand river and burn the Indian town of Canassadaga 
and the Fort of St. Ann's; but after consultation with 
his officers, a better feeling of humanity prevailed, and 
he declined to do so. 



CHAPTER V. 

An Attempt to Recover tlie Lost Ground down the St. Lawrence — Colonel St. 
Clair is sent against Three Elvers — Waiting Impatiently for the First Penn- 
sylvania Regiment — General Wooster Relieved — General Sullivan Assumes 
Command of the Army — He Sends General Thompson with Additional 
Troops to Join St. Clair — Captains Jonathan Jones and Benjamin Davis 
join the Force under General Thompson with their Companies — Arrival 
of Resolutions of Congress — Additional Reinforcements of Militia and 
Indians ordered by Congress — The Battle of Three Rivers. 

While these active movements were going on above 
Montreal, General Thompson, at Sorel, having been in- 
formed that the banks of the St. Lawrence, two or three 
miles below Three Rivers, were high, and the channel 
within musket-shot of the shore, determined that as 
soon as the First Pennsylvania Regiment returned he 
would set out with them and some light artillery to 
fortify that place. Before he was able to carry out this 
design, however, he learned that Colonel Maclean, with 
about eight hundred regulars and Canadians, had ad- 
vanced as far up the St. Lawrence as Three Rivers, and 
was intrenched at that place. 

He accordingly sent Colonel St. Clair, with part of the 
Second Pennsylvania Regiment, and Colonel Maxwell, 
with the Second New Jersey, in all between six hundred 
and seven hundred men, to attack Maclean's camp, if it 
could be done with the least prospect of success. He also 
wrote to General Arnold to send him the First Pennsyl- 
vania, and to Brigadier-General Baron de Woedtke, at St. 
Johns, to hasten forward the first regiment that should 

(66) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 67 

arrive there from the south, intending, as soon as these 
troops should join him, to reinforce St. Clair with them, 
and make the most of his victory, if he was successful, 
or cover his retreat if he failed. " Could I have com- 
mand of the Jersey and Pennsylvania regiments," he 
wrote to Washington on the 2d of June, with more con- 
fidence than his surroundings warranted, " I still believe, 
if I did not keep the country, it would require at least 
five thousand men to oblige us to evacuate it." More 
than double that number of British troops were then in 
Canada, but so little effort had been made by the Ameri- 
can officers to obtain reliable information of the move- 
ments of the enemy, that they were entirely ignorant of 
the fact. 

St. Clair, with his detachment, left Sorel in boats on 
the 1st of June, and dropped down through Lake St. 
Peter (a broad expanse of the St. Lawrence) to Nicolet, 
on the south side of that river, about nine miles above 
Three Rivers. Here he landed his troops, and awaited 
further developments. 

In the meantime General Thompson* sent the sick 
and heavy baggage up the Sorel river to Chamblee and 
St. Johns, so as to facilitate his retreat should it become 
necessary, and stationed a guard of fifty men, composed 
of parts of Bond's, Bedel's, and Burrell's regiments, at 
Berthier, on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence. This, 

* William Thompson was a native of Ireland. He had been a captain in 
the seven years' war, and became colonel of the six companies of riflemen, after- 
wards increased to eight, raised in Pennsylvania by order of Congress in June, 
1775. With them he joined Washington's army at Cambridge. He was made 
brigadier-general by Congress, March 1st, 1776, and was ordered to New York, 
where he arrived on the 20th, and commanded the post until the arrival of 
Washington, when he was ordered to Canada. He was taken prisoner at 
Three Rivers, and was not exchanged until 1778. He died near Carlisle, Penn- 
sylvania, September 4th, 1781. 



68 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

with the force sent against Maclean at Three Rivers, and 
the men detailed to row and attend the sick, depleted 
his force at Sorel to two hundred men. He therefore 
waited impatiently for the First Pennsylvania Regiment 
to join him. Colonel De Haas, in obedience to his orders, 
had left Montreal with the regiment on the 4th of June, 
and had proceeded to within eighteen miles of Sorel, 
when General Arnold, who had received intelligence that 
four hundred Indians were on Montreal Island, with the 
intention of attacking the outpost at La Chine, ordered 
him to return. 

Upon the death of General Thomas, the command of 
the army devolved upon General John SuUivan, who 
arrived at Chamblee with his detachment from New York 
on the very day that General Thomas died. General 
Wooster had been relieved by order of Congress, and 
was then on his way to his home in Connecticut. He 
afterwards demanded an inquiry into his conduct in 
Canada, and the committee appointed by Congress for 
that purpose reported that nothing censurable or blame- 
worthy appeared against him. He resigned his commis- 
sion in the Continental army, was appointed first major- 
general of the Connecticut militia, and was killed in a 
skirmish near Ridgefield, Connecticut, April 27th, 1777, 
in the sixty-eighth year of his age. 

Sullivan was so much elated at finding himself in 
possession of a separate command that he allowed his ci- 
thusiasm to get the better of his judgment. His head was 
completely turned by his unexpected good fortune. It 
led him to believe that the whole of Canada was within 
his grasp. " The enemy's ships are now above Descham- 
bault," he wrote to Washington, '* but if General Thomp- 
son succeeds at Three Rivers, I will soon remove the 



CONQUEST OF CANADA, 69 

ships below Richelieu Falls, and after that approach 
Quebec as fast as possible." This rodomontade, with 
others of like character that quickly followed it, raised 
false hopes in the breast of the commander-in-chief, 
which it took but a few days for the disastrous events 
which were then rapidly approaching to destroy. 

His vanity led him with haste to speak disparagingly, 
and even contemptuously, of the misfortunes of the 
troops which had preceded him. He hastily ordered all 
the heavy baggage and intrenching tools back to Sorel, 
and embarked for that place himself on the 3d. He 
arrived there early on the 4th. "I venture to assure you 
and the Congress," he wrote vaingloriously to Washing- 
ton, "that I can, in a few days, reduce the army to order, 
and with the assistance of a kind Providence, put a new 
face to our affairs here, which a few days since seemed 
almost impossible." He immediately repeated General 
Thompson's order to Arnold to send the First Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment to Sorel, and upon learning from Arnold 
that he had sent it back to La Chine, he sent dispatches 
to him by Captain John Lacey, of Wayne's Regiment, at 
four o'clock on the afternoon of the 5th, in which he 
stated that a number of the king's troops were between 
him and Three Rivers; that he expected soon to be at- 
tacked, and peremptorily ordered Arnold to send every 
man that could be spared to his assistance. 

Sullivan wrote to Washington, with some impatience, 
of Arnold's conduct. "By some strange kind of conduct 
in General Arnold," he wrote, "directly contrary to re- 
peated orders, he has kept that detachment (Colonel De 
Haas') dancing between this and Montreal ever since my 
arrival." 

Sullivan and Thompson were anxious for the presence 



70 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

of these Pennsylvania troops, because they were obliged 
to rely for support almost entirely upon them. Sullivan 
and Colonel Trumbull, both New England men, frequently 
spoke of them as the elite and flower of the army. The 
New England troops were so much infected with or afraid 
of small-pox, that they were almost prevented by the dis- 
ease or their fears of it from doing duty. Of the fifteen 
regiments which then composed the army, De Haas', St. 
Clair's, Wayne's, and Irvine's Pennsylvania, and Wind's 
and Maxwell's New Jersey regiments constituted nearly 
the whole available force. The six New England regi- 
ments of Greaton, Bond, Patterson, Stark, Reed, and Poor 
did not together contain one hundred men fit for duty. 

On the evening of Thursday (the 6th), Sullivan sent 
General Thompson with three companies of Wayne's, the 
remainder of St. Clair's, and the whole of Irvine's regi- 
ments, in all about one thousand men, to reinforce Colonel 
St. Clair at Nicolet. They reached there at midnight, 
when General Thompson assumed command of the whole 
force. " I have the highest opinion of the bravery and 
resolution of the troops you command," wrote Sullivan 
in his instructions to General Thompson, " and doubt not 
but under the direction of a kind Providence you will 
open the way for our recovering that ground which 
former troops have so shamefully lost." 

On the receipt of Sullivan's last order, Arnold imme- 
diately sent the companies of Jonathan Jones and Ben- 
jamin Davis in boats down the St. Lawrence. They 
touched at Sorel on the night of the 6th, and were 
ordered by Sullivan to immediately follow General 
Thompson down the river. They crossed Lake St. Peter 
that night, keeping close to the southern shore, and joined 
the troops at Nicolet on the morning of the 7th. They 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 71 

were placed under the command of Colonel Wayne. 
Their arms were wet, and the men were much fatigued. 
The other companies of the First Pennsylvania, owing to 
the scarcity of boats, were sent by Arnold to Chamblee, 
and they reached Sorel on the 8th, the day of the battle 
of Three Rivers. 

Captain Ebenezer Stevens, with the two companies of 
artillery under his command, was also ordered to Three 
Rivers, but the ground not proving favorable for artillery 
he was ordered back by General Thompson without 
landing. 

At eight o'clock on the morning of the 8th of June, 
Sullivan also sent Colonel Wind's First New Jersey Regi- 
ment to reioforce Thompson, but they did not reach him 
in time to participate in the battle of Three Rivers. 

As General Thompson was about embarking from Sorel 
for Nicolet, the resolutions of Congress, passed May 
25th, arrived and infused new spirit and determination 
into the troops. The resolutions set forth that Canada 
was of the last importance to the welfare of the United 
Colonies. " Should our troops retire before the enemy," 
said the letter of the President of Congress which en- 
closed them, " and entirely evacuate that province, it is 
not in human wisdom to foretell the consequences. In 
this case the loss of Canada will not be all — the whole 
frontiers of the New England and New York govern- 
ments will be exposed, not only to the ravages of Indians, 
but also the British forces. Congress are determined not 
to relinquish the expedition or give it up." 

As an earnest of their sincerity in the matter, they 
sent to General Schuyler on the same day the last penny 
of hard money they had in the treasury, amounting ex- 
actly to £1662 Is. 3d. 



72 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

At the same time came a letter from Washington ad- 
dressed to the late General Thomas. " This unfortunate 
affair (the retreat from Quebec)/' he wrote, "has given 
a sad shock to our schemes in that quarter and blasted 
the hope we entertained of reducing that fortress and 
the whole of Canada to our possession." 

Congress also resolved, on the 1st of June, that six 
thousand militia should be employed from Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York to reinforce 
the army in Canada, and keep open the communications 
with that province. They also reversed their previous 
policy in relation to the employment of Indians in the 
military service, and resolved to raise three thousand of 
them for service in Canada. General Schuyler, who was 
well acquainted with the temper of the Indians of that 
region, inquired, in reply, where these Indians were to 
come from, and gave it as his opinion that the utmost 
that could be hoped from them in the waning state of 
the American cause in Canada was neutrality. For the 
purpose of securing even this much from them, he sub- 
sequently held a conference, by direction of Washington, 
and made a treaty with the Six Nations at German 
Flats. 

During the whole of Friday, the 7th of June, the 
troops lay quietly at Nicolet, partly to refresh the men, 
and partly because they could not have crossed the river 
without being discovered from the enemy's vessels which 
were then lying, ten in number, at anchor five miles above 
Three Rivers. 

Everything was in readiness, however, and at nine 
o'clock on the night of the 7th they crossed the lower 
end of Lake St. Peter, about three miles above the ship- 
ping, and landed at Point Du Lac, on the opposite side. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 



73 



about nine miles above Three Rivers. Here General 
Thompson detailed a guard of two hundred and fifty men, 
under Major Joseph Wood, of the Second Pennsylvania, 
to take charge of the boats, which were about fifty in 
number. The remaining force under General Thompson 
was divided into five divisions, commanded by Colonels 
Maxwell, St. Clair, Wayne, and Irvine, and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Thomas Hartley of the Sixth Pennsylvania, 
whose division formed the reserve. Thus organized 
they began their march rapidly for Three Rivers. It 
will be observed that this entire force was composed of 
Pennsylvania troops, with the exception of Maxwell's 
New Jersey regiment, and that it was commanded by a 
Pennsylvania general. They were ignorant of the force 
of the enemy (as to which, as they soon discovered, 
they had been greatly deceived) and of the country, 
which made them entirely dependent upon their guides. 
Through the treachery of these they were led out of 
their way into a deep morass, which was almost impassa- 
ble. They struggled through it with great perseverence, 
difficulty, and fatigue, up to their waists for hours, some 
of the men losing their shoes and stockings. Finding it 
impossible to proceed in that direction, they returned 
toward the St. Lawrence, but it was daybreak before 
they were able to extricate themselves from the swamp. 
They were then opposite the enemy's shipping, from 
which a fierce cannonade was opened upon them that was 
distinctly heard at Sorel. The fire was returned by the 
troops with small arms (for they had no artillery), with 
some effect upon a squad in a barge. 

Though exhausted by their night struggle in the marsh, 
they continued their march for three-quarters of a mile, 
within fifty yards of the river, under a galling fire from 



74 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

the shipping, when they were driven off from the shore 
by the effect which the fire began to produce upon their 
ranks, and soon became entangled in the swamp again. 
At this point the divisions of St. Clair and Irvine sepa- 
rated from the divisions of Maxwell, Wayne, and Hartley, 
the two former, with General Thompson, marching in a 
north-easterly direction back from the river ; the three 
latter divisions continuing their march near the shore. 
Colonel Wayne's division (with whom were Captains 
Jones' and Davis' companies of the First Pennsylvania) 
was in advance, and reached the clearing in front of the 
town about 8 o'clock. It was supported by Maxwell's 
division, with the reserve under Hartley in the rear. 
Wayne here discovered the advance-guard of the enemy, 
composed of the Ninth and Sixty-second regiments of 
Light Infantry and a few Indians under Colonel Maclean. 

After the retreat of the colonial troops from Quebec, 
General Carleton had ordered all the British troops to 
assemble at Three Rivers, where it was expected the 
Americans would make a stand. For this place the re- 
inforcements pushed forward with great expedition, by 
land and water, as fast as they arrived. A large number 
of British and Irish regiments were now there under 
Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, who had sailed from Spit- 
head on the 4th of April, in the frigate Blonde. A por- 
tion of these were intrenched on shore, with Maclean's 
Royal Highland Emigrants, a body of Indians, and Cana- 
dian volunteers under command of Brigadier-General 
Simon Fraser. The remainder were on board the vessels 
in the river, with a portion of the Brunswick regiment 
Riedesel, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Specht, 
who were on board the Harmony. 

The companies of Captains Strangway and Ferguson, 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 75 

the light infantry companies of the Twenty-fourth Regi- 
ment, and two companies of the Thirty-fourth Regiment, 
were detailed to guard the pass of the river, and took no 
part in the engagement. General Carleton, who had 
gone back' to Quebec temporarily, returned to Three 
Rivers on the evening of the 8th, the day of the battle. 

Wayne at once attacked the advance-guard of the 
enemy and drove them in upon the main body, two 
thousand or three thousand strong, under Brigadier- 
General Eraser, strongly intrenched before the town. 
The Americans, though wearied by loss of sleep and 
their toilsome march through the swamp, displayed great 
courage and gallantry, but the enemy opened such a 
murderous fire upon them from behind their works that 
they were forced to give way. There was some loss on 
both sides. 

In the meantime the British shipping had dropped 
down the river, and Brigadier-General Nesbitt landed 
with troops in the rear of the Americans. 

St. Clair's and Irvine's divisions, with General Thomp- 
son, by this time had reached the edge of the swamp 
half a mile above, on the left, and were advancing to 
support Wayne and Maxwell; but not being able to rally 
the men, who by this time were retreating in disorder 
and confusion. General Thompson ordered the whole 
force to fall back fifty paces, to the cover of the wood. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Hartley, perceiving the confusion, 
led up the reserves, and endeavored to cover the retreat. 
He engaged the enemy with much spirit, but was obliged 
by the overwhelming force to fall back. 

Wayne succeeded in forming his men at the edge of the 
wood, and for a few moments held the enemy in check; 
but perceiving that a strong detachment had landed from 



76 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

the vessels in his rear, and cut off the retreat to the boats, 
and the overwhelming numbers which were advancing in 
his front, he ordered a retreat, which took place in much 
confusion and disorder. It was impossible to regain the 
road, which had been occupied by the enemy, and the 
Americans fled with precipitation into the swamp. 

Generals Eraser and Nesbitt followed by the road 
along the river's edge with a large body, as far as La 
Chine and Point Du Lac, at the foot of Lake St. Peter. 

Wayne retreated with his division close to the river, 
and kept up a running fire with the enemy, in an en- 
deavor to reach the boats, which had been left under 
guard at Point Du Lac. They came within sight of 
them. All except two (which had been captured) had 
been removed by Major Wood and the guard, who had 
escaped in them up the river, and the enemy were in 
possession of the landing. The shipping of the enemy 
was also passing up the river to cut off all the ferries. 
Nothing was left, therefore, to the unfortunate Conti- 
nentals, but the hard fate of continuing their retreat 
through the woods and deep, endless morasses, without 
food, lying down at night, near the enemy, to sleep from 
sheer exhaustion. 

General Thompson and Colonel Irvine, with about 
forty men (afterwards reduced to seven), were cut off 
from the main body, and wandered about the swamps 
utterly exhausted, for twenty-four hours, when, finding 
themselves surrounded, they surrendered to General 
Nesbitt, who treated them cruelly, and marched them, 
under a strong guard, with the common crowd of prison- 
ers, for six miles to headquarters. " Generals Carleton 
and Burgoyne were both there, who treated us very 
politely," Colonel Irvine notes in his diary ; " they 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 77 

ordered us refreshments immediately; indeed, General 
Burgoyne served us himself." 

On the following day, which was Sunday, the British 
forces were ordered back to their stations at Three 
Rivers. The colonial troops, which were scatterd through 
the marshes, began to join the main body until their 
numbers were increased to twelve hundred, with which 
force they arrived at Berthier, opposite the mouth of the 
Sorel, on the evening of the 10th.* 

Colonel Wayne, in an order to his troops dated the 
11th, says of them : — " Their spirited conduct in bravely 
attacking and sustaining the fire from both great and 
small arms of an enemy more than ten times their num- 
ber, merits the colonel's highest approbation." 

The American loss in the battle of Three Rivers was 
about two hundred prisoners and twenty-five killed, most 
of the latter being from Wayne's and Maxwell's divisions, 
who had borne the brunt of the fight. Chaplain Mc- 
Calla, of the First Pennsylvania, was among the prisoners. 

* Lieutenant-Colonel Hartley, in writing of this battle, says : — " Not a 
man of McClean's company behaved ill. Grier's company behaved vrell. Several 
of the enemy were killed in the attack of the reserve. Under the disadvantages 
our men would fight, but we had no covering, no artillery, and no prospects of 
succeeding, as the number of the enemy was so much superior to ours. Colonel 
Wayne behaved exceedingly well, and showed himself the man of courage and 
the soldier. Colonel Allen exerted himself, and is a fine fellow. Colonel Max- 
well was often in the midst of danger. His own division was not present to 
suijport him. He was also very useful iu the retreat, after he joined Colonel 
Wayne. Lieutenant Edie, of the York troops, I fear, is killed. He was a fine 
young fellow, and behaved bravely. He approached the enemy's works without 
dismay several times, and remained in the swamps to the last. He was iu the 
second engagemnt, where it is supposed he was killed. Ensign Hopes, of the 
same company, was wounded near the breast-work, when I led up the reserve. I 
can not give too much commendation of him. He showed the greatest courage 
after he had received several wounds in the arm. He stood his ground and 
animated his men. He nobly made good his retreat with me, through a swamp 
of near eighteen miles long. The ball has hurt the bone. Several of our men 
were killed — I apprehend between thirty and fifty. The rest missing, have been 
taken, quite worn-out with fatigue and hunger." 



78 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

The British loss was eight killed, including a sergeant of 
the Thii'ty-first and three men of the Twentieth Regi- 
ments, and nine wounded, eight of whom were of the 
Sixty-second regiment. The wounded of both sides were 
taken together to the Convent of the Ursulines, where 
they received humane treatment at the hands of the 
nuns. The prisoners were released by Carleton on their 
parole, and sent to New York on the 6th of August. 

It becomes marvelous in the extreme, when we re- 
count the perils of their situation, that so many of the 
Americans escaped. The movement was a daring and 
courageous one, ill-advised though it proved to be. It 
exposed the whole force, through the difficulties of the 
country, the great superiority of the enemy by land and 
water, and the forlorn condition of the Americans, to im- 
minent danger of capture. The advantages were all 
with the British. That they failed to reap the benefit of 
them, was owing in no small degree to the courage, en- 
durance, and indomitable spirit of the American troops. 

When the news of the defeat at Three Rivers reached 
the colonies, great fears were naturally entertained for 
the safety of the whole army. " The accounts trans- 
mitted by General SuUivan are truly alarming," wrote 
Washington to Schuyler, when he received the news of 
that disaster, "and I confess I am not without apprehen- 
sion lest the next advices should be that the unfortunate 
defeat and taking of General Thompson has been suc- 
ceeded by an event still more unfortunate — the destruc- 
tion of a large part, if not the whole, of our army in that 
quarter. The weak, divided, and disheartened state in 
which General SuUivan represents it to be, does not seem 
to promise anything much more favorable, and is what 
General Arnold appears to be suspicious of." The de- 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 79 

spondency expressed in this letter was shared by Con- 
gress and the colonists, who had been looking hopefully 
for more satisfactory results. 

The fate of this army had been a hard one ; and many 
months of peril and suffering were yet before it, but 
against this total destruction, which was reasonably to be 
anticipated, and which would have brought relief to their 
bodies, their spirits were destined to contend successfully, 
and to bring them safely out of their present perils, to 
render their country signal service before the campaign 
was over. 



CHAPTER Aa. 

Sullivan's force after the Battle of Three Rivers — Condition of the Troops — 
Desertions — Fortifying the post at Sorel — The Retreat — The retreating 
Americans reach Chamblee — Brunswick and Hessian troops — George III. 
contracts for them with the German princes — Departure of the first detach- 
ment for Quebec under Riedesel — Arrival of General Burgoyne with British 
reinforcements — The British army which ascended the St. Lawrence — 
Pursuit of the Americans up the Sorel river — The Americans burn Cham- 
blee and continue their retreat to St. Johns — The sick are sent to Isle aux 
Noix — Arnold's retreat from Montreal — The Americans retreat to Isle aux 
Noix, and the British occupy St. Johns — Congress and Washington recon- 
ciled to the situation — Congress inquires into the causes of the disasters in 
Canada. 

Sullivan's effective force at the mouth of the Sorel, 
after the battle of Three Rivers, did not exceed twenty- 
five hundred men. It was made up of four hundred and 
twenty-four New England troops belonging to the regi- 
ments of Stark (New Hampshire), Porter (Massachu- 
setts), and Burrell (Connecticut); six hundred and 
eighty-one New Jersey troops of Wind's and Maxwell's 
regiments ; and one thousand three hundred and sixty- 
one men of the Pennsylvania regiments of De Haas, St. 
Clair, Wayne, and Irvine. In addition to these there 
were four companies of artillery with two four-pounders. 

The remainder of the army was scattered at different 
posts in the neighborhood. Reed's New Hampshire and 
Patterson's Massachusetts, with three hundred men fit 
for duty, were at Montreal ; Poor's New Hampshire, with 
two hundred and seventy-seven men fit for duty, and 

(80) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 81 

Greaton's Massachusetts, every man of which was in the 
hospital, were at St. Johns. Parts of Bond's Massachu- 
setts, Bedel's New Hampshire, and Burrell's Connecticut 
regiments formed the guard at Berthier, on the opposite 
side of the St. Lawrence ; and part of Porter's Massa- 
chusetts regiment was at Chamblee. There were about 
three thousand sick at St. Johns. 

Small-pox, famine, raggedness, defeat, and disorder 
had broken the spirit of this little army and rendered it 
very inefficient. The patriots of whom it was composed 
had patiently and perseveringly suffered every privation 
and physical hardship they were able to bear, and had 
made every effort they were able to make to retain their 
hold upon Canada. But everything had been against 
them from the first, and now was added the insurmount- 
able disadvantage of an enemy greatly superior in num- 
bers and completely equipped. If any one was responsible 
for the loss of Canada the blame could not be laid to the 
charge of these suffering troops. They had been sent in 
mid-winter, without credit, without supplies either of 
money, provisions, clothing, or munitions of war, and 
without the necessary reinforcements, into a country 
which, though friendly at first, had become practically a 
hostile province. To these difficulties, most of which 
might have been avoided, was superadded the calamity 
of a loathsome and fatal disease, which, taking advantage 
of their weakness, had made frightful gaps in their ranks, 
had carried off their general, and left the whole army 
almost without hope. 

Notwithstanding their forlorn condition, a severe meas- 
ure of duty was exacted of them. An order of the day, 
issued on the 11th, ran as follows : — " Every non-com- 
missioned officer or soldier who shall come to the parade 



82 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

dirty, with a long beard, or his breeches-knees open, shall 
be mulcted of a day's allowance of provision, and do a 
double tour of duty." 

Desertions from Sorel, St. Johns, and Chamblee were 
of daily occurrence. Rather than longer endure the 
hardships of the camp, the deserters preferred to face the 
dangers of starvation in the wilderness bordering on the 
sides of the lakes through which they were obliged to 
pass before they could reach their homes. 

Despite the distressed and forlorn condition of these 
men, unwearied pains were taken to fortify the post at 
Sorel. Earthworks were thrown up enclosing the camp, 
and a battery was erected on the north side of the river, 
upon which three guns of heavy calibre were mounted. 
But these were the works of desperate men, bent on do- 
ing their whole duty with all the means at their com- 
mand, rather than the fruits of a hopeful design of hold- 
ing the place against the progress of the victorious 
British army, for when information reached them that 
the British fleet had entered Lake St. Peter, Sullivan 
called a council of war to consider the situation, and it 
was unanimously resolved that it would be worse than 
useless to attempt to defend the place against the guns 
of the fleet and the superior numbers of the enemy, who 
had with them a very complete train of artillery. A 
retreat was accordingly determined upon. Hasty prepa- 
rations were made, and on the 14th, in dejection and 
suffering, the army moved toward the south. The annals 
of war do not contain a sadder tale than is furnished by 
the story of this retreat. They brought everything off 
with them. Not even an intrenching tool was left behind. 
Their afflicted comrades were the special object of their 
solicitude, and it mattered not that they carried with 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 83 

them the pestilence that had eaten the very life out of 
the army. The baggage, heavy ordnance, and stores 
were placed on board of several vessels under the charge 
of Major Nathan Fuller, of Bond's regiment. With the 
aid of favorable winds these vessels made very good prog- 
ress for a few miles, when they were becalmed, and soon 
fell behind. General Sullivan found it necessary to send 
back one hundred bateaux to their relief in order to pre- 
vent them from falling into the hands of the enemy. To 
these bateaux every thing was transferred and the ves- 
sels burned. They rowed their boats against the current 
of the Sorel river and marched by the shore. Though 
weary from fatigue and improper nourishment, they were 
obliged to drag the boats containing the batteries, bag- 
gage, provisions, and sick over the lower rapids, where 
the water was only one and a half feet deep — wading up 
to their waists in mud and water; but by that untiring 
perseverance which characterized all the movements of 
that remarkable struggle, they brought everything up 
but the three pieces of heavy ordnance which had 
mounted the battery at Sorel. "The fatigue we had to 
save our bateaux, cannon, &c.," General Sullivan writes, 
"and get them over the rapids, was beyond anything 
that ever I went through, and what was never done by 
an army in our situation before, and what, for my own 
part, I never wish to attempt again." 

About 9 o'clock on Saturday night, the 15th, the head 
of the army reached Chamblee, and the men, over- 
whelmed with fatigue, and poorly refreshed on pork and 
flour, lay down to rest. The night was very dark, and 
the rain poured down in torrents. Every place along 
the road that afforded shelter was crowded with the un- 
fortunate soldiers who composed this shattered army. 



84 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Thus huddled together, they were permitted for a few 
hours to forget in sleep their great sufferings. 

Leaving them there, we will retrace our steps for a 
moment, and follow the progress of the British army, 
which was then in close pursuit upon their rear. 

Reinforcements for this army had continued to arrive 
at Quebec in detachments until the 1st of June, during the 
night of which day the first division of the Brunswick 
troops arrived. 

In the fall of 1775, George III. applied to the Em- 
press Catharine of Russia for twenty thousand Russian 
troops, upon any terms which she might name, to be 
employed in subduing his subjects in America ; but she 
rejected his proposition with indignation. He after- 
wards applied with more success to the Landgrave of 
Hesse-Cassel, the Duke of Brunswick, and the Count of 
Hesse-Hanau. For each soldier furnished by them they 
received the sum of .£7 4s. 4d., as much more for every 
one that was killed, and, in addition, an annual subsidy 
of one hundred crowns per head. 

In pursuance of the treaty made with these German 
princes, a regiment of unmounted dragoons, under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Baum, who fell at Bennington in the fol- 
lowing year ; a regiment of infantry under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Praetorius, named the Prince Frederick ; a regi- 
ment of infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Specht, named 
Riedesel; and a battalion of grenadiers, under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Breymann, who was mortally wounded 
at Saratoga, October 7th, 1777 , numbering in all about 
two thousand five hundred men, and commanded by 
Major-General Riedesel, marched from Brunswick, on the 
22d of February, for Stade, in Hanover, from whence 
they sailed down the Elbe on the 21st of March, and 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 85 

arrived at Spithead on the 28th. Here they remained 
for a week, which was consumed in an interchange of 
hospitalities between the British officers and General 
Riedesel. They were joined at Spithead, on the 30th, 
by a regiment of Hesse-Hanau troops, six hundred strong, 
under Colonel Von Gall, who was subsequently made a 
brigadier-general. The bartering of these troops created 
great indignation throughout Germany. Frederick the 
Great denounced the practice, and made those who were 
obliged to pass through his dominion pay toll like " cattle 
exported for foreign shambles." It has been said that 
the Landgrave Frederick II. kept up a splendid court 
on the proceeds of the pay, amounting to £3,000,000, 
which the British Government gave him for the services 
of the twenty-two thousand Hessians who fought against 
the Americans in the war of independence. 

On the 4th of April the fleet set sail from Spithead, 
consisting of sixteen vessels containing the Brunswick 
troops, four vessels containing the Hesse-Hanau troops, 
six vessels containing the English corps of artillery under 
command of Major-General William Phillips, and two 
transports with provisions and ammunition. The whole 
were convoyed by the frigate Juno, Captain Dalrymple, 
and the frigate Blonde, thirty-six guns. Captain Brunei, on 
board of which was Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne. 
At Plymouth the fleet was joined by six additional ships 
with the Twenty-first British regiment on board. 

When these troops reached Quebec, the Brunswick 
regiments of dragoons and Prince Frederick were left 
there as the garrison of that city, under command of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Baum. All the rest were 
sent up to Three Rivers to join the reinforcements which 
had previously arrived. 



86 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

The British army thus assembled at Three Rivers, 
and which ascended the St. Lawrence in pursuit of the 
retreating Americans, consisted of Maclean's Royal High- 
land Emigrants, the Canadian volunteers, a body of 
Indians, the English grenadiers and light infantry, the 
following regiments of foot, consisting of ten companies 
of fifty-six men each: — The Ninth (Ligonier's), Twen- 
tieth (Parker's), Twenty-first, Twenty-fourth (Taylor's), 
Twenty-ninth (Evelyn's), Thirty-first, Thirty-fourth (Lord 
Cavendish's) , Forty-seventh (Carleton's) — which had been 
at Bunker's Hill, — Fifty-third (Elphinstone's), and Sixty- 
second (Jones'), the British corps of artillery, consist- 
ing of six companies under Major-General Phillips, the 
Brunswick battalion of grenadiers and regiment of infant- 
ry Riedesel, and Colonel Von Gall's Hanau regiment, — 
amounting in all to about ten thousand men, amply pro- 
vided with everything that could contribute to the com- 
fort and efficiency of a soldier. 

They proceeded slowly and cautiously up Lake St. 
Peter in the vessels which composed the fleet, those only 
whose transports had not come up marching along the 
north shore, under command of General Eraser. Extra- 
ordinary precautions were taken to guard against sur- 
prise. The guns of the vessels were loaded, strong 
guards were kept upon the decks, patrol-boats were con- 
stantly out about the ships, and squads of Indians and 
Canadians also patrolled the shores in their canoes day 
and night. 

On the evening of the 14th of June, the fleet arrived 
off the mouth of the Sorel river, a few hours after Sulli- 
van's army had evacuated the works at that place. The 
retreat of the Americans had been so long delayed that 
the guard at Berthier, opposite Sorel, was obliged to 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 87 

abandon the boats, and escape by the way of Montreal 
and Chamblee. 

The British grenadiers and light infantry and part of 
General Nesbitt's brigade occupied the abandoned works 
at Sorel that night. The next morning additional troops, 
including part of the artillery, were landed from the fleet, 
and the whole column placed under command of Lieu- 
tenant-General Burgoyne, with instructions to cautiously 
pursue the retreating American army, but to venture 
nothing until he was supported by the column which 
was to march by the way of Longueil and La Prairie. 

The fleet then proceeded up the river to Longueil, 
and from it General Carleton landed with the remainder 
of the troops on the evening of the 16th. They were 
furnished with four days' rations, and began that same 
night the fatiguing march for St. Johns, by the way 
of La Prairie, in the rain, and under the burden of their 
wet blankets, commanded by Major-General Phillips. 
They were followed by the two regiments of Brunswick 
troops and one of Hanau, under command of Major- 
General Riedesel. The horses had not been landed, and 
officers and men alike were obliged to march on foot. 
General Eraser's* corps also crossed the St. Lawrence 
and brought up the rear. These columns were joined in 
their march by many Canadians, volunteers, and Indians. 
Learning that Montreal had been evacuated, General 
Carleton sent the Twenty-ninth regiment there to do 
garrison duty, whither he also repaired himself. He re- 
mained there until the 26th, when he established his 
headquarters at Chamblee. 

* Neither Nesbitt, Fraser, nor Phillips survived the war. Nesbitt died at 
Quebec shortly after the retreat of the British army from Crown Point; Fraser 
was killed at Saratoga, October 7th, 1777, and Phillips died at Petersburg, Vir- 
ginia, May 13th, 1781. 



88 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

On Sunday morning, the 16th, the fortifications and 
saw-mills at Chamblee, with the row-galleys and four 
schooners, were burned by the American troops, Avho then 
continued their retreat toward St. Johns, thirteen miles 
above, burning all bridges behind them as they went. 

The bateaux, with the baggage, ordnance, and stores, 
were in the rear, under a guard of five hundred men, 
commanded by Major Fuller. They had barely quitted 
one end of Chamblee when the advance-guard of the 
column under Burgoyne entered it at the other. Con- 
siderable skirmishing was kept up between these par- 
ties in the woods and underbrush above Chamblee, until 
large reinforcements were sent back by General Sulli- 
van, which brought off the rear and the bateaux in safety. 

The sick had been sent on ahead from St. Johns to 
Isle aux Noix. But two men could be spared from 
those fit for duty to row each boatload of them, and 
these pulled wearily all night long, with their helpless 
burdens, against the current of the river, for the distance 
of twelve miles. They reached Isle aux Noix just be- 
fore day. The sick were landed on the island with great 
haste, and the boats sent back to bring up the army, for 
they were as scantily supplied with boats as they were 
with everything else. What more distressing situation 
can be imagined? 

The greater number of the sick were utterly helpless, 
some died on the way, others were dying, — aU crying 
out for relief which could not be furnished them. " It 
broke my heart," wrote Dr. Meyrick, a surgeon who was 
with them on the Isle aux Noix, "and I wept till I 
had no more power to weep. I wiped my eyes, pitched 
my tents, and others did the same, so that in about an 
hour the sick were all out of sight." 




Ly, .^^^tAM^^"-^^ 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 89 

On Monday, the 17th, the rear of Sullivan's army got 
safely up to St. Johns, incumbered with their baggage, 
stores, and provisions. They found General Arnold there 
with his little party of three hundred men of Reed's 
and Patterson's regiments, comprising the garrison of 
Montreal. They had crossed the St. Lawrence from 
Montreal to Longueil on the previous Saturday night, 
bringing everything with them, and had marched twenty- 
six miles on Sunday, by the way of La Prairie to St. 
Johns, burning the bridge over Little river behind 
them. Arnold had been at Chamblee and St. Johns 
for several days looking after the goods he had seized 
from the merchants at Montreal. From there he wrote 
to General Sullivan on the 13th, "The junction of the 
Canadas with the Colonies is now at an end. Let us quit 
them, and secure our own country before it is too late," 
and returned to Montreal on the 14th to await events. 
When Sullivan learned that Arnold was retreating from 
Montreal, and in danger of being intercepted by the 
enemy, he sent a party under General Wayne to cover 
his retreat ; but this party had marched but a short dis- 
tance when it was discovered that Arnold was safe. At 
St. Johns the retreating army found also Poor's and 
Greaton's regiments forming the garrison of that place. 

Another council of war was held at St. Johns, at 
which it was determined not to attempt to hold the 
place, but to continue the retreat to Crown Point. The 
barracks and fortifications were stripped of everything 
and burned, and the troops began immediately to embark 
in their boats for Isle aux Noix, which place the last 
of them reached on the night of the 18th. Major John 
Bigelow, with an artillery squad of forty men, was posted 
at St. Johns to protect the retreat. Arnold was the last 



90 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

man to leave the shore. The advance of the enemy was 
then in sight. He stripped his horse of his accoutre- 
ments, shot him through the head, and pushed the last 
boat off with his own hands. 

The head of the British column which marched under 
Burgoyne up the Sorel river occupied St. Johns on the 
night of the 18th, and the advance of the other column, 
which marched from Longueil, under Major-General 
Phillips, reached St. Johns on the morning of the 19th 
of June. 

At this point the pursuit ended. The Americans, with 
their terrible burden, destitute of almost everything but 
courage and patriotism, had made good their retreat, had 
brought everything off with them, and left desolation in 
their path behind them. But a few hours in time sepa- 
rated the pursuers from the pursued. There was a road 
up the bank of the Sorel river as far as, and beyond. 
Isle aux Noix. The island lay within half-musket shot 
of the shore. The British numbers were three-fold 
greater than the American, to say nothing of their vast 
superiority of condition and equipment. Yet beyond 
this point the Americans were allowed to choose their 
own time, and conduct their further retreat in their own 
way, as the circumstances of their distressed condition 
required. Viewed in the light of all its surroundings, 
their escape was no less than a substantial victory. 

To this inevitable result of the expedition into Canada, 
after the manner in which it had been conducted. Con- 
gress seems to have been easily reconciled. " The loss 
of Canada," wrote Hancock to Washington, "is undoubt- 
edly on some accounts to be viewed in the light of a 
misfortune. The continent has been put to a great ex- 
pense in endeavoring to get possession of it. That our 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 91 

army should make so prudent a retreat as to be able to 
save their baggage, cannon, ammunition, and sick from 
falling into the hands of the enemy, is a circumstance 
that will afford a partial consolation, and reflect honor 
upon the officers who conducted it. Considering the 
superior force of the British troops, and a retreat una- 
voidable, everything has been done which in such a situ- 
ation could be expected. In short, sir, I am extremely 
glad that our army is likely to get safe out of Canada," 

In this view of the situation Washington acquiesced. 
In replying to this letter of the President of Congress, 
he wrote, " Canada, it is certain, would have been an im- 
portant acquisition, and well worth the expenses incurred 
in the pursuit of it. But as we could not reduce it to 
our possession, the retreat of our army with so little loss, 
under such a variety of distresses, must be esteemed a 
most fortunate event." 

A committee of Congress, subsequently appointed to 
inquire into the causes of the disasters in Canada, attrib- 
uted them to the short enlistment of the troops, the 
want of hard money, and the prevalence of small-pox. 



CHAPTER VII. 

At Isle aux Noix — Distressing Condition of the American Troops — Evacua- 
tion of Canada — Kemoval of the Sick to Crown Point — Massacre of Penn- 
sylvanians by the Enemy's Indians — Their Burial and Epitaph — The Retreat 
from Isle aux Noix to Isle la Motte and Crown Point — Encampment of the 
Troops at that place. 

Isle aux Noix (a narrow island in the Sorel river, a 
mile long by a quarter of a mile wide) then contained 
about eight thousand officers and men, the remnants of 
"as fine an army," wrote Greneral Gates, "as ever marched 
into Canada." They were all crowded together, half of 
them prostrated with small-pox and other diseases, and 
many of them, especially the Eastern troops, infested 
with vermin. 

The island derived its name from the hazel bushes on 
its northern end, and was covered with clover. It was 
low and flat, situated in the midst of a swampy, malari- 
ous country, and had been a military position of more or 
less importance in all the Avars of that region. The only 
buildings then upon it were a house and barn occupied 
by a French family. The four Pennsylvania regiments 
were encamped on the east side of the island. The days 
were intensely hot and the dews very heavy. The air 
was infected by the sick, the dead, and the dying. This, 
together with the malarious condition of the country and 
the fact that the men had had nothing to eat for so long 
but salt pork and unbolted flour, and nothing to slake 

(92) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 93 

their burning thirst with but the poisonous water of the 
lake, threatened the speedy destruction of the whole 
army. As a consequence of their wretched condition, a 
camp disorder broke out among them. From twenty to 
sixty in a regiment were taken down with it in a day ; 
they dropped down while on parade. "1 am almost 
distracted," wrote Sullivan to Washington, "with the 
thoughts of losing so many men as daily go off by sick- 
ness." All of the field officers and many of the men of 
the First Pennsylvania Regiment were prostrated with 
it. " To give you a particular account of the miserable 
state of our troops here," wrote Sullivan to Congress, 
"and the numbers which daily keep dropping into their 
beds and graves, would rather seem like the effect of 
imagination than the history of facts." 

A large pit was dug as a burial-place for each camp. 
To the edge of this pit the dead were carried in blankets 
as soon as the breath was out of their bodies. Without 
ceremony they were rolled into it in the rags in which 
they died, and at night barely enough earth was thrown 
over them to hide them from sight. This charnel-house 
was thus ready to receive another layer of those who 
should perish in wretchedness on the following day. 
They found not even decent sepulture, when their mis- 
eries were ended, nor any memorial of the sacrifice they 
made for the cause of American liberty. 

Sullivan, a brave and gallant officer, who retreated 
very reluctantly, had hoped against hope to be able to 
strengthen the old French intrenchments, and make a 
stand on the Isle aux Noix. It was their last foothold 
in Canada. The fine of New York was only ten miles 
away. The same heroic spirit which had sustained these 
unfortunate troops in so many trials now led them to 



94 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

think of holding this place long after every possibility 
of their being able to do so had vanished, in the brave 
determination that nothing on their part should remain 
undone to carry out the wishes of their countrymen re- 
specting Canada. But they had conquered every other 
obstacle, only to be destroyed by disease. The unhealth- 
iness of the locality, and the awful mortality among the 
troops, at length compelled Sullivan, with the advice of 
all his officers, to abandon Isle aux Noix and continue 
the retreat. "One fortnight longer in this place," he 
wrote in despair to Washington, " will not leave us well 
men enough to carry off the sick." 

At noon, on Thursday (the 20th), they began to move 
the sick to Crown Point, in the shallow boats (then the 
worse for wear) which had been rudely constructed in 
the spring to carry the army over the lakes into Canada. 
Sullivan sent a letter with the sick to General Schuyler, 
which contained the following passage : — " I send on the 
sick, the looks and numbers of which will present you 
with the most dismal spectacle ever furnished from one 
army in this quarter of the globe." The boats were 
leaky and without awnings. The sick were laid in their 
wet bottoms, without beds or blankets or covering of any 
description. The hot mid-summer sun beat down upon 
them without moderation. Many of the New England 
regiments were so much reduced by sickness that it was 
necessary to draft men from the Pennsylvania regiments 
to row them. This weary, suffering journey from Isle 
aux Noix to Crown Point occupied five long days and 
nights, with nothing but salt pork (often rancid) and un- 
baked flour upon which to sustain their miserable exist- 
ence. The army had received but three or four days 
fresh provisions since it had entered Canada. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 95 

The Americans remained for eight days on Isle aux 
Noix, without any attempt having been made on the 
part of the British to dislodge them. They had sent 
scouting parties up the west bank of the river to watch 
the movements of the Americans ; and, if possible, to 
run off their boats. Their Indians continually lurked in 
ambush on the flanks of the Americans, making it dan- 
gerous to venture beyond the lines, but their main body 
kept close within its lines at St. Johns. On the 24th, 
one of these scouting parties, composed chiefly of Indians, 
surprised a party of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment 
which had crossed from the camp " to fish and divert 
themselves." They were drinking spruce beer, unarmed, 
at a Canadian cabin, when they were surprised by the 
savages. Captain Adams, Lieutenant Culbertson, and 
two privates were killed and scalped. Captain McClean, 
Lieutenants McFerren, McAlister, and Hoge, and two 
privates, were made prisoners. A party from camp 
came to their rescue at the first alarm, and enabled 
Captain Rippey and Ensign Lusk, the other mem- 
bers of the party, to make their escape. Colonel 
Wayne, with a detachment, was sent in pursuit of 
the savages, but was not able to overtake them, and 
returned to camp without having discovered any signs 
of the enemy. 

The bodies of the massacred Pennsylvanians were re- 
moved to Isle aux Noix and decently buried. A rude 
stone was erected over their remains by their comrades, 
bearing the following inscription: — "Beneath this humble 
sod lie Captain Adams, Lieutenant Culbertson, and two 
privates of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment. Not hire- 
lings, but Patriots. They fell not in battle, but unarmed. 
They were basely murdered and inhumanly scalped by 



96 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

the barbarous emissaries of the once just — but now aban- 
doned — kingdom of Britain." 

EPITAPH. 

"Sons of America 1 rest in quiet here. 
Britannia, blush ! Burgoyne, let fall a tear. 
And tremble, Europe's son, with savage ease, 
Death and Eevenge await you with disgrace." 

On the 26th, the retreat of the American army from 
Isle aux Noix began. It was conducted by slow stages. 
The next resting-place was Isle la Motte, twenty-five 
miles to the south. This island was selected because it 
was much larger, higher, and healthier than Isle aux 
Noix. 

There were not boats enough to transport the whole 
army. Nearly all they possessed had gone forward with 
the sick to Crown Point. Colonel Wynkoop, at Ticon- 
deroga, had been ordered by Schuyler to send all the 
boats he could procure down the lake to the assistance 
of the retreating army. Schuyler also sent an express 
to Fort George, where there were about one hundred 
and fifty boats, with orders to send them to the relief of 
the army, but there were so few men to take them down 
the lake, that but a small number were sent. None of 
these had as yet arrived, and a large detachment was 
therefore obliged to march twenty-six miles along the west 
side of the lake by an Indian path, knee-deep through a 
swamp, to Point au Per, at which place there was then 
a brick house, commonly known as the White House. 
From this point they were taken off by boats, and carried 
over to Isle la Motte, which lay nearly opposite. 

From Isle la Motte, the retreat was continued to Crown 
Point, at which place the rear of the army arrived on the 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 97 

night of the 2d of July. Here they pitched what tents 
they had, built sheds with the lumber they could pro- 
cure, and huts, for those who could not otherwise be shel- 
tered, out of hemlock bushes. In these rude structures, 
the sick and well, without discrimination, bestowed them- 
selves as best they could. " I can truly say," writes 
Colonel Trumbull, the Adjutant-General, who made an 
inspection of them for the purpose of making a return ; 
" I can truly say that I did not look into tent or hut in 
which I did not find a dead or dying man." They num- 
bered about five thousand two hundred who were fit for 
duty, and two thousand eight hundred sick. To convey 
some idea of the sufferings this army had undergone, it 
may be mentioned that the loss from death, desertion, 
and other causes, from the time they entered Canada 
until they left it, amounted to nearly five thousand men — 
about forty per cent, of their whole number. They still 
buried from fifteen to twenty of their comrades every 
day. " Our misfortunes in Canada," wrote John Adams, 
from Philadelphia, "are enough to melt a heart of stone. 
The small-pox is ten times more terrible than British, 
Canadians, and Indians together. There has been want 
approaching famine, as well as pestilence." 

Though the condition of these troops was as distress- 
ing in all respects as it well could be, the strictest meas- 
ures were adopted to keep the men clean. Numerous 
orders, having that special object in view, were issued 
from time to time. The following was made by Colonel 
Wayne on the 7th : — " A barber for each company is also 
to be nominated, for the purpose of shaving the soldiers 
and dressing their hair, who shall be allowed four pence 
per man per week out of his wages. The colonel is de- 
termined to punish every man who comes on parade with 



98 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

a long beard, slovenly dressed, or dirty, in the severest 
manner, especially for neglect of his arms. They, at all 
events, must at all times be clean and fit for service." 

To the speedy remedying of the distressing state of 
the army the attention of all was soon turned. "You 
will see from the enclosed resolves, which I do myself 
the pleasure of forwarding, in obedience to the commands 
of Congress," John Hancock had written to Washington 
on the 18th of June, "that they have bent their whole 
attention to our affairs in Canada, and have adopted such 
measures as, in their opinion, are calculated to place them 
on a better and more reputable footing for the future." 
This resolution to put things in Canada upon a more rep- 
utable footing came too late ; but the same energies were 
now bent to repair the fatal errors that had been com- 
mitted there, in order that the army might be put in a 
condition to defend the northern frontier from the inva- 
sion which was then threatened by a powerful British 
army. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

General Gates Appointed to the Command of the Army — He arrives at Albany 
and learns of the Retreat — A question of Command between Schuyler and 
Gates — They set out together for Crown Point — Reconnoitering Parties are 
sent down the Lake — Capture of Captain Wilson and his Men — Brigadier- 
General Gordon is Killed by Lieutenant Whitcomb — A Council of War 
determines to abandon Crown Point and remove the Sick to Fort George — 
Remonstrance of Field Officers — Washington and his Generals disapprove 
of the action of the Council — General Sullivan takes offense at the Appoint- 
ment of Gates, and Resigns his Commission — A General Hospital estab- 
lished at Fort George — Removal of the Sick — Their Neglect and Sufferings 
— Removal of the Army to Ticonderoga. 

On the same day that Sullivan with his retreating 
army reached St. Johns, Congress appointed Major-Gen- 
eral Horatio Gates to the command of the forces in 
Canada. He owed his selection to the influence of the 
delegates from the New England Colonies, with whom 
he was very popular, and John Adams was among the 
first to notify him of his good fortune. "We have or- 
dered you to the post of honor, and made you dictator 
in Canada for six months," he wrote to him. Gates left 
New York for the army on the 26 th of June, accompa- 
nied by John Trumbull, his adjutant-general; Morgan 
Lewis (afterwards Governor of New York), his quarter- 
master-general, and Dr. Jonathan Potts. Upon their 
arrival at Albany, Gates first heard of the retreat from 
Canada, and a question at once arose between General 
Schuyler and himself as to which of them was entitled 
to the command. Schuyler contended that Gates was 

(99) 



100 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

to have the supreme command of the army only while it 
was in Canada, and as it had now retreated into the 
province of New York, he, as commander of the northern 
department, was Gates' superior officer. To this Gates 
would not accede. They agreed, however, that this dif- 
ference between them should not in the least be allowed 
to embarrass the service, but should be referred to Con- 
gress for settlement. In the meantime they agreed to 
act in concert, and forthwith set out together on horse- 
back for the army, accompanied by General Arnold (who 
had left Isle aux Noix for Albany on the 1 9 th) and 
Colonel Trumbull. On the 8th of July, Congress settled 
the disputed question of command in favor of General 
Schuyler, to which decision General Gates gracefully sub- 
mitted. They rode by Fort Edward and Fort Anne, and 
down Wood creek, over the road which the province of 
New York had built through this wilderness in 1709, to 
Skenesborough (now White Hall), which was at this time 
a thriving village of about three hundred and fifty in- 
habitants. From there they went by water to Ticonde- 
roga. Upon reaching there they sent Colonel Trumbull 
over to Mount Independence, on the opposite side of the 
lake, to examine the ground with a view to its fortifi- 
cation, and Schuyler, Gates, and Arnold proceeded to 
Crown Point, where they joined the sad and suffering 
wreck of the army on the evening of Friday, the 5th of 
July. They at once began the work of reorganizing it, 
to protect the colonies from invasion by Sir Guy Carle- 
ton's army from the north. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Hartley, with two hundred and 
fifty men of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, had been 
sent down the lake by General Sullivan as far as Isle 
la Motte to reconnoitre the enemy. He reported that 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 101 

the British had pushed on their advance as far as Isle 
aux Noix, where their outpost was then stationed, but 
showed no signs of advancing further. 

Later, a party of thirty men, under Captain James A. 
Wilson and Lieutenant John Grier, of the Sixth Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment, were sent down the lake as a reconnoi- 
tering party. They were encouraged by the supineness 
of the enemy to proceed into the river Sorel, where they 
fell in with a party of the enemy's light infantry and a 
number of Indians under the command of Captain James 
H. Craig, of the Forty-seventh Regiment. After a brisk 
engagement, during which about six rounds were fired, the 
Americans, after a gallant resistance which commanded 
the admiration of the enemy, were obliged to surrender. 
One of the enemy's Indians was killed, and one of the 
light infantry mortally wounded. The Americans lost one 
man killed and another wounded, who afterwards died. 

Lieutenant Benjamim Whitcomb, of Burrell's Connect- 
icut Regiment, was also sent out with a scout of four 
men upon a hazardous expedition into the country occu- 
pied by the enemy, for the purpose of making one of 
their number prisoner, and obtaining from him informa- 
tion of their designs and movements. Whitcomb and 
his party left Crown Point on the 14th of July, and 
made their way slowly down the east shore of the lake 
to the head of Missisque bay, where they began to dis- 
perse. Whitcomb with one companion went across the 
country for about twenty miles to the Sorel river, oppo- 
site St. Johns. From here they moved slowly down the 
east bank of the Sorel river to the neighborhood of 
Chamblee, where they crossed to the road leading from 
St. Johns to La Prairie. At this point his companion 
left him, and Whitcomb, while concealed in the thicket 



102 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

by the side of the road, at noon, on the 24th of July, 
shot in the right shoulder and mortally wounded Brig- 
adier-General Gordon, who was riding by in the full scar- 
let uniform of a British officer. General Gordon had 
ridden from La Prairie, where his brigade was encamped, 
to St. Johns on a visit to General Fraser, whose head- 
quarters were then at the latter place, and was on his 
return home when he was shot. He died of his wound 
on the 30th of July, and was buried at Montreal, with 
military honors, on the 3d of August. He was one of 
the four brigadiers whom Carleton had but recently ap- 
pointed, the others being Nesbitt, Fraser, and Powel, 
and was much respected as a brave and meritorious ofi&- 
cer. The manner of his death created great indignation 
in the British army, and was much regretted by the 
Americans. 

Colonel Trumbull joined the army at Crown Point on 
the 6th of July, and recommended Mount Independence 
as a military position of great natural strength. A rocky 
bluff*, thirty to fifty feet high, surrounded on three sides 
by the lake, with a deep morass and East creek behind 
it, and low country beyond. It was weU calculated, if 
fortified, to protect the eastern colonies from invasion, 
and was easily accessible to their militia. Colonel Trum- 
bull also recommended the erection of a work on the top 
of Sugar-loaf Hill, afterwards called Mount Defiance, to 
the south-west of Ticonderoga, which, from its great 
height — seven hundred and fifty feet above the lake — 
commanded both Mount Independence and Ticonderoga. 
Neglect of this recommendation led to the evacuation of 
Ticonderoga in the following year. 

A council of war was held at Crown Point, on Sun- 
day, the 7th, composed of Major-Generals Schuyler and 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 103 

Grates, and Brigadier-Generals Sullivan, Arnold, and de 
Woedtke, by which it was resolved that Crown Point 
was not tenable, and that it was prudent for the army to 
retire immediately to Ticonderoga. It was also resolved 
to remove the sick immediately to Fort George. 

The resolution to evacuate Crown Point occasioned 
much dissatisfaction among some of the field officers of 
the army. A remonstrance against it, addressed to Gen- 
eral Schuyler, was drawn up on the 8th, and signed by 
Colonels Stark, Maxwell, Porter, Reed, Bond, Poor, Bur- 
rell, Greaton, and others. Colonel St. Clair and Colonel 
De Haas, "men," wrote General Gates to Washington, 
"whose long service and distinguished character deserv- 
edly give their opinion a preference," agreed with the 
general officers that it was expedient to evacuate the 
place. Washington, who was very uneasy and anxious 
about the northern frontier, and who was not familiar 
with the topography of the lakes or the condition of the 
fortifications, was inclined, at first, to coincide with the 
field officers against the action of the council. "When 
intelligence was first received here that Crown Point was 
abandoned," he wrote to General Schuyler, "it was the 
cause of general alarm, and filled the minds of most who 
heard it with no small degree of anxiety and chagrin." 
He also wrote to General Gates from New York on the 
19th: "Nothing but a belief that you had actually re- 
moved the army from the Point to Ticonderoga, and 
demolished the Avorks at the former, and the fear of cre- 
ating dissensions and encouraging a spirit of remonstra- 
ting against the conduct of superior officers by inferiors, 
have prevented me, by the advice of the general officers 
here, from directing the post at Crown Point to be held 
till Congress should decide upon the propriety of its 



104 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

evacuation. I must, however, express my sorrow at the 
resolution of your council, and wish that it had never 
happened, as everybody who speaks of it also does, and 
that the measure could yet be changed with propriety." 
"Upon the whole," he wrote to him at a later date, "no 
event of which I have been informed for a long time 
produced a more general chagrin and consternation." 
The wisdom of the evacuation, however, was conclusively 
established by the events which followed. 

The quick sensibilities of General Sullivan were deeply 
wounded by the appointment of General Gates, who had 
been his junior in rank, to supersede him in the com- 
mand. "I readily confess," he wrote to General Schuyler 
from Crown Point on the 6th, " that I ever was desirous 
of some officer of superior rank to relieve me from the 
disagreeable command, and should with pleasure have re- 
mained in the army and served under him ; but Congress 
having thought proper to supersede me by appointing 
General Gates (who had not, by the rank they were 
pleased formerly to confer on us, the same pretensions 
as myself), I can construe this in no other light but by 
supposing Congress was apprehensive that I was not 
equal to the trust they were pleased to repose in me. 
If this be the case, I am bound in justice to my country 
to relinquish a command to which I am not equal. If 
this was not the foundation, and they had not such an 
opinion of me, surely my honor calls upon me to leave 
the service after a person is put over me without any 
impeachment of my conduct." He accordingly requested 
leave of absence, which was reluctantly granted, pro- 
ceeded to Philadelphia, and resigned his commission. 

Before his departure, he expressed to the army, 
through General Schuyler, his satisfaction at the man- 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 105 

ner in which they had performed all their duties, under 
the most trying circumstances, and in return was pre- 
sented by the officers with an address expressive of the 
high regard in which they held him. 

Congress was unwilling to accept the resignation of 
General Sullivan, as the manner in which he had con- 
ducted the retreat out of Canada was highly creditable 
to him, and he was induced, after satisfactory explana- 
tions, to withdraw it and remain in the service. 

The first step toward the improvement of the con- 
dition of the army was the removal of the sick. It was 
determined to establish a general hospital at Fort George, 
and Dr. Jonathan Potts was immediately directed to fit 
up the sheds on the lake shore at that place with cribs 
or berths for their reception, and to gather such hem- 
lock-tops as could be collected along the lake for their 
bedding. 

On the 10th of July the removal of the sick from 
Crown Point commenced. The pork provided for them 
on their journey was so rancid that it had to be thrown 
away. They had nothing to eat but a scant supply of 
flour, wet with lake water, and baked on flat stones. 
The gloomy flotilla encountered head winds all the way, 
and their journey of fifty miles consumed four days and 
nights. By the 12th, accommodations had been pro- 
vided at Fort George for about three hundred and fifty, 
and lumber enough had been collected there to shelter 
the remainder until hospitals could be erected. One 
woman was drafted from each company of the Pennsyl- 
vania regiments and sent with them as nurses. 

On the shores of this romantic lake, now one of the 
most popular pleasure resorts in America, these unfor- 
tunate soldiers of the Revolution (many of whose bones 



106 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

still lie there in their unrecognized resting-places) re- 
mained for weeks and weeks, in the most distressed and 
neglected condition. They were without proper diet, 
without bedding, many of them being obliged to lie on 
bare boards, and without shelter sufficient to screen them 
from the weather. Among the scourges that prostrated 
them were dysentery, bilious putrid fevers, and confluent 
small-pox. They were without medicines in a country 
where none were to be procured, with less than a dozen 
physicians to attend from fifteen hundred to two thou- 
sand men, and without experienced female nurses. It is 
not surprising, therefore, that by the middle of August 
their number had decreased to one thousand by deaths 
and discharges. By the 20th of October, it was still 
further reduced to four hundred, which number included 
the wounded sent from the fleet. Richard Stockton and 
George Clymer, the committee of Congress who visited 
the locality, spoke of the sick in their report as fol- 
lows : — "Your committee can not omit mentioning under 
this head, the complaints which they have received from 
persons of all ranks, in and out of the army, respecting 
the neglect and ill-treatment of the sick. It is shocking 
to the feelings of humanity, as well as ruinous to the 
public service, that so deadly an evil has been so long 
without a remedy." 

After the sick had been removed from Crown Point, 
there remained about three thousand effective men, with 
which, as a nucleus, the difficult work of reorganization 
began. On the 8th of July, Generals Schuyler and Gates 
returned to Ticonderoga, and on the following day the 
First, Second, and three companies of the Fourth Penn- 
sylvania Regiments arrived there. They were without 
shoes or stockings, and almost in rags. "The whole of 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 107 

them appeared in miserable plight from the fatigue and 
sickness they had undergone, but, compared with the 
eastern troops, they were robust and healthy," wrote 
Captain Persifor Frazer, who, with his company, and the 
companies of Captains Taylor, North, Moore, and Ver- 
non, of Wayne's regiment, had left New York City on 
the 29th of June, and joined the three companies of the 
regiment which had served in Canada, at Ticonderoga, on 
the 12th of July. The Sixth Pennsylvania had been 
left at Crown Point, under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Hartley, as the advance-guard of the army, and 
to protect the oar-makers who had arrived there (where 
timber for the purpose was abundant) to make oars for 
the fleet. They constantly sent small parties down the 
lake from Crown Point to reconnoitre the movements of 
the enemy. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Ticonderoga — The Pennsylvania Troops occupy and repair the French lines — 
Baron de Woedtke — Composition of- the Army that Eetreated from Canada 
— Colonel Enoch Poor — Division of the Army into Brigades — Ship-carpen- 
ters are sent up from the Atlantic Seaboard — Other Mechanics begin to 
arrive — Mount Independence is cleared — Camp Life and Duties — Sickness 
on Mount Independence — Colonel John Greatou — Want of Mail facilities. 

Ticonderoga (a corruption of the Indian Cheonderoga — 
"congregation of many waters," or, as others have inter- 
preted it, "place of rocks dividing the water," or "place 
where two rivers meet") had, from the earliest times, 
been the name of the peninsula, a mile long by two- 
thirds of a mile wide, which projects into Lake Cham- 
plain, and is washed on the north and east by its waters, 
and on the south by the outlet of Lake George. The 
name was confined at this time to the old fort, which 
stood seventy feet above the surface of the lake. It 
was constructed by the French in 1755, and called by 
them Carillon (chime), after the sound of the water-fall 
above it. It and Crown Point were dismantled by the 
French when they evacuated them in 1759, but were 
immediately rebuilt by the English at a cost of £2,- 
000,000. They were both soon after suffered to fall 
into decay, 

Ticonderoga was not a strong place in a military sense, 
though it seems to haA^e been so regarded by the French, 



and the English after them. It commanded the water 

(108) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 109 

communication with Lake George, but was in danger of 
being turned to the north-west from Three-mile Point to 
that lake, and was at the mercy of Mount Defiance on 
the south. It required, moreover, the large garrison of 
ten thousand men and at least one hundred cannon for 
its defence. 

Lake Champlain at this point is confined by the two 
promontories of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence 
within the compass of half a mile. 

Upon their arrival at Ticonderoga, the three Pennsyl- 
vania regiments encamped temporarily on the shore of 
the lake, below the old fort, until a road could be com- 
pleted up to the old French lines, which they had been 
ordered to occupy and repair. The French lines were 
situated three-quarters of a mile back of the old fort, in 
a north-westerly direction. They had been hastily con- 
structed by the French troops under Montcalm on the 
7th of July, 1758, after their outposts had been driven 
in by Abercrombie, and consisted of heavy logs piled 
one upon another to the height of eight feet, with an 
abatis in their front. From behind them three thou- 
sand French troops repulsed, with frightful slaughter, 
fifteen thousand British on the day after they were con- 
structed. 

Scouting parties of twenty men each were sent out 
from the camp of the Pennsylvania troops by the lake- 
side every morning before daybreak, to scour the high 
ground back of the French lines from the bridge near 
the saw-mill, on the outlet of Lake George, across the 
peninsula to the shore of the lake opposite. On the 
16th they moved their camp up the hill near the French 
lines, which they immediately began to repair, and a 
week later permanently took their positions close within 



110 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

them, where they remained for four months until the 
First Regiment marched to the south, and the Second 
and Fourth went into winter quarters as the permanent 
garrison of the place. 

By the middle of July the health of Baron de Woedtke 
had become so much impaired that he was obliged to go 
to the hospital at Fort George. He lingered there until 
the 28th, when he died, and was buried with honors due 
to his rank. 

Frederick William, Baron de Woedtke, was a Prus- 
sian officer of rank and culture, who had entered the 
service of Frederick II. as early as 1750. He came to 
America in the fall of 1775 very highly recommended, 
with the intention of taking part in the revolutionary 
struggle, and making America the country of his adop- 
tion. He visited Washington at Cambridge and was ap- 
pointed a brigadier-general by Congress on the 16th of 
March, 1776, with directions to proceed immediately to 
Canada. He accompanied the Commissioners of Con- 
gress to Montreal and joined the army on the Sorel 
early in May, 

General Arnold had been left in command at Crown 
Point by Gates, to direct the embarkation of the troops 
and bring up the rear of the army, with which he arrived 
at Ticonderoga on the 17th, having left three hundred 
new-made graves at Crown Point behind them. All the 
other regiments composing the army encamped tempo- 
rarily near the old fort, and on a point of land on the 
opposite side of the lake. 

The army which retreated from Canada was com- 
posed of John P. De Haas', Arthur St. Clair's, Anthony 
Wayne's, and William Irvine's Pennsylvania; William 
Wind's and William Maxwell's New Jersey; John 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. Ill 

Stark's, James Reed's, Enoch Poor's,* and Timothy 
Bedel's New Hampshire ; John Greaton's, William 
Bond's, John Patterson's, and Elisha Porter's Massa- 
chusetts ; and Charles Burrell's Connecticut regiments — 
fifteen regiments in all of regular continental troops. 
In addition to these regiments of infantry, there was an 
independent company commanded by Colonel Stanton, a 
few volunteers, and the four artillery companies of Cap- 
tains Stevens, Eustis, Romans, and Wood. 

They found Colonel Cornelius Wynkoop's New York 
regiment of Continental troops at Ticonderoga, forming 
the garrison of that place. 

Colonel Goose Van Schaick's and Colonel Cornelius Van 
Dyke's New York regiments of Continental troops were 
stationed at Fort George, which post was commanded by 
Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Gansvoort, of Van Schaick's 
regiment, who heroically defended Fort Stanwix when 
it was besieged by St. Leger in the following year. 

The army was divided into four brigades. The First, 
commanded by General Arnold, consisted of Bond's, 
Greaton's, Burrell's, and Porter's regiments. The Sec- 
ond, commanded by Colonel Reed, consisted of Reed's, 
Poor's, Patterson's, and Bedel's regiments. The Third, 
commanded by Colonel Stark, consisted of Stark's, Max- 
well's, Wind's, and Wynkoop's regiments. The Fourth, 

* Enoch Poor was born at Andover, Massachusetts, in 1736. He removed to 
Exeter, New Hampshire, and was appointed colonel of a regiment of New Hamp- 
shire troops after the battle of Lexington. He served under Wasliington at the 
siege of Boston. His regiment was afterwards ordered to New York, and from 
there to Canada in the brigade of General Thompson. He was appointed briga- 
dier-general by Congress February 21st, 1777. His brigade, composed of New 
York and New Hampshire troops, began the attack on the enemy's left at the 
battle of Saratoga, October 7th, 1777. He was afterwards with Washington at 
Valley Forge, and distinguished himself at the battle of Monmouth. He was 
killed in a duel with a French officer September 8th, 1780, near Hackensack, 
New Jersey, and is buried at that place. 



1 



112 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

commanded by Colonel St. Clair, consisted of St. Clair's, 
De Haas', Wayne's, and Irvine's regiments. The first 
three were ordered to encamp on Mount Independence, 
the fourth, or Pennsylvania brigade, in the old French 
lines — the post most exposed to the enemy, the key to 
the whole position, and upon the maintenance of w^hich 
the safety of the whole army depended. 

They were in the midst of a wide-extending wilder- 
ness, which abounded in bears, wolves, and rattlesnakes. 
It produced nothing but lumber, for the manufacture of 
which there were no less than three saw-mills in the im- 
mediate vicinity : one built by the French near the falls, 
on the outlet from Lake George, where the village of 
Ticonderoga now stands, another at Crown Point, which 
was repaired by Lieutenant-Colonel Hartley, and another 
at Cheshires, on Wood creek, near Skenesborough, which 
had been built by General Schuyler in anticipation of 
the retreat, and run day and night to furnish boards for 
the fleet, and to provide shelter for the troops. 

It was not long, however, before this wild and solitary 
place became the scene of great life and activity. The 
neighboring hills soon began to resound with the echoes 
of fife and drum, the roar of the morning and evening 
gun, and the blows of hundreds of axes. 

On the last day of May, General Schuyler had sent 
thirty carpenters from Fort George to Skenesborough, 
by the way of Ticonderoga, as a pioneer force, to build 
gondolas, but they found neither tools nor materials there 
to build them with. After the retreat of the army, ship- 
carpenters were procured at prodigious wages along the 
Atlantic seaboard, and forwarded to Skenesborough as 
speedily as possible, to construct a fleet to control the 
waters of Lake Champlain. A company of fifty was sent 





/^^L/7^7^t3^7C^ 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 113 

from Philadelphia. They had not time to put their tools 
on board the vessel at New York which was to carry 
them to Albany, before the British ships Phoenix and 
Rose ran up above the city and cut off all water com- 
munication with the towns on the Hudson. They were 
obliged, therefore, to pursue the more tedious and ex- 
pensive journey by land. At the request of Congress, 
Grovernor Nicholas Cooke, of Rhode Island, sent another 
company of fifty ship-carpenters from that State. An- 
other company of fifty was sent from Massachusetts, and, 
at the request of General Schuyler, Governor Trumbull 
sent up still another company of fifty from Connecticut. 
Two tons of oakum were also sent up, at General Schuy- 
ler's request. 

A forest was to be cleared preparatory to the fortifi- 
cation of the ground, but they were without the means 
to do it with until General Schuyler sent them twelve 
hundred felling-axes, and Governor Trumbull, a patriot 
who did much to relieve all their wants, sent them eight 
hundred more, with handles, by the way of Bennington, 
on the 29 th of July. It was not long, however, before 
there was not a grind-stone fit to grind them on, and the 
axes were thereby rendered almost useless. House-car- 
penters and armorers also soon began to arrive, but their 
work was much delayed by the want of tools and nails, 
which last were obtained with very great difficulty. 

By the 21st of July a sufficient number of felling-axes 
had been received to enable the First, Second, and Third 
Brigades to begin the work of clearing Mount Independ- 
ence of the primeval forest with which it was covered, 
and in ten days the ground was sufficiently cleared to 
enable them to lay out their camp. They constructed 
log huts to cover themselves with, and proceeded to 



114 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

throw up earthworks, a twenty-gun battery on the lower 
side, and above it a semi-circular redoubt. 

The sufferings of the army at Ticonderoga were, how- 
ever, slow to decrease. The routine of military duty was 
very severe, inspirited only by the martial sound of fife 
and drum, and a few brass and reed instruments which 
General Thompson's brigade had brought with them 
from Boston. Music of the latter kind was so scarce 
in the colonies, however, that the brass and reed instru- 
ments were safely packed up by order of the President 
of Congi'ess, and sent to Philadelphia. The patriotism 
which had led the troops into the service continued to 
sustain them through all its hardships and privations, 
and they continued to struggle on in the rough path of 
duty. Alarm posts were established immediately after 
their arrival, and the different companies were out at 
them every morning before daybreak. During the day 
every man who could be spared from his post was 
hard at work on the intrenchments. Even the elements 
seemed to conspire against them. Scarcely a day passed 
without the rain descending in torrents. The evening 
after the Pennsylvania regiments removed their camp 
up the hill, it rained so hard that officers and men lay 
all night in nearly two inches of water. 

This not only seriously retarded the work on the in- 
trenchments, but the effects of the cUmate and exposure 
upon the already enfeebled constitutions of the men, 
reduced many of them with chills and fever and dys- 
entery, and there were no medicines on hand to reheve 
them. The surgeon's mate of the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment was obliged to send a hundred men of the 
regiment to Fort George, because no medicines could be 
obtained at Ticonderoga for them. It was necessary. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 115 

almost daily, to issue half a gill of rum to every non- 
commissioned officer and soldier to protect them against 
the wet weather. 

The new earth turned up on Mount Independence in 
the broiling sun, with the malaria arising from the stag- 
nant lake and the neighboring swamps, soon produced 
fevers there of a very fatal character. Heaps of brush 
were burned on the new ground every night and morn- 
ino- to purify the air, but without success in removing 
the cause of disease, which hngered until the frosts came 
in the fall. "It would make a heart of stone melt to 
hear the moans and see the distresses of the sick and 
dying," wrote Dr. Wigglesworth to the New Hampshire 
Committee. The only real relief they experienced was 
from the discovery of springs of excellent water at the 
base of the rocks. 

Colonel Bond died there on the 31st of August, and 
was buried with mihtary honors in front of his regiment ; 
Colonel Burrell was sent home in a very precarious state 
of health; Colonel Greaton* was sent to Fort George 
dangerously ill, but recovered, and General Reed was 
also sent to the hospital so ill that he did not regain his 
health during the campaign, and ultimately lost his sight. 

The chills and fever was a malady common to the 
shores of Lake Champlain from Skenesborough to St. 
Johns. It attacked the settlers as well as the troops. 
The British suffered even more severely than the Amer- 
icans, as the regions about St. Johns and Isle aux Noix, 

*JOHN Greaton was born in Eoxbury, Massachusetts, March 10th, 1741, in 
which place he kept an inn. He was an officer of the local militia, and became 
colonel of a Massachusetts regiment July 12th, 1775. His regiment was sub- 
sequently incorporated into the Continental Army and was present at the siege 
of Boston. He was ordered to New York after the British evacuation of Boston, 
and from there to Canada with General Thompson. He was appointed brigadier- 
general by Congress January 7th, 1783, and died at Eoxbury in February, 1784. 



116 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

where they were encamped, were more unhealthy than 
those portions of the lake occupied by the American 
troops. As many as nineteen of the enemy were buried 
in one day. 

Early in August an abundance of fresh beef was fur- 
nished to the men, twenty head of cattle being sent them 
every week, and plenty of fresh bread ; and thereafter 
order began to make its appearance, and the spirits of 
the men materially to improve. Rum, wine, chocolate, 
loaf-sugar, fresh vegetables, venison, cheese, and butter 
were articles of luxury within the reach of those who 
were able to purchase them. They could be obtained 
from the sutlers who flocked to the camp, but only at 
such exorbitant prices that it was found necessary to 
regulate their sale by general order. A market was es- 
tablished for that purpose at the foot of the glacis of the 
old fort, which was ordered to be held there every day 
from eight o'clock in the morning until sunset. 

Not the least of the privations which the Southern 
troops at Ticonderoga suffered was the want of any news 
from home. The Massachusetts Assembly had provided 
a weekly post-rider, who carried letters from Watertown 
to the soldiers at Ticonderoga free of charge, and Gov- 
ernor Trumbull had also provided one from Lebanon, 
Connecticut, to Ticonderoga, to carry the mail "as fre- 
quently as that stage could be performed ; " but the 
Southern troops were without any mail facilities what- 
ever. A very decided remonstrance was addressed to 
Congress upon the subject, signed by General Gates and 
the field officers of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey 
Regiments, in which they complained that their public 
and private letters were opened and detained, and pray- 
ing that a regular post might be established between 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 117 

Philadelphia and Ticonderoga. Congress, a day or two 
before this memorial was received, had established a 
regular system for carrying the mails throughout the 
colonies. A post-rider was to be employed for every 
twenty-five or thirty miles on all public post-roads, who 
was to ride his stage three times a week — setting out 
immediately upon the receipt of the mail bag, and riding 
with it night and day until he delivered it to the next 
rider. The memorial of the field ofiicers at Ticonderoga 
was referred by Congress to the Committee for Regula- 
ting the Post Office, and tardy relief was extended to 
them under the general postal system. 



CHAPTER X. 

News of the Declaration of Independence — A Copy is sent to Burgoyne with 
a Demand for the Perpetrators of the Barbarities after the Cedars — Carleton 
returns an Offensive Answer — Sectional Animosities between the Troops — 
Ordnance and Ordnance Stores — Their removal from Ticonderoga by Colonel 
Knox — Court-Martial of Colonel Moses Hazen — Disrespectful Conduct of 
General Arnold — His Arrest Requested, but Refused. 

Toward the close of July, the army at Ticonderoga 
received news of the declaration of independence, and 
on the 28th it was read at Ticonderoga by Colonel 
Arthur St. Clair. It was received by the troops with 
great enthusiasm. A copy of it had been sent, by order 
of Congress, for General Burgoyne (who, by some strange 
error, was supposed to be in command of the British 
forces), together with the resolutions of Congress re- 
monstrating with the British for the barbarous treatment 
of the Colonial prisoners of war after the Cedars, and 
demanding that those who had been guilty of those bar- 
barities should be delivered up for punishment. By 
these resolutions Congress agreed to ratify the sponsion 
entered into by Arnold with Forster, and to return an 
equal number of British prisoners, in rank and condition, 
but only upon condition that the British commander in 
Canada would first deliver into their hands the authors, 
abettors, and perpetrators of those brutal massacres, that 
they might suffer the punishment which their crimes de- 
served. 

(118) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 119 

These dispatches from Congress to Burgoyne were 
intrusted for transmission to Major John Bigelow with 
a boat's crew of the corps of artillery. They arrived 
with them at the British lines under a flag of truce on 
the same day that St. Clair was reading the Declaration 
to the troops at Ticonderoga. Bigelow was received 
with civility by Captain Craig of the Forty-seventh Regi- 
ment (Carleton's own regiment), who informed him that 
Burgoyne was not the commanding officer in Canada, 
and he did not know whether he could receive a flag of 
truce or not, but would forward the dispatches to Bur- 
goyne, whose headquarters were at Chamblee, and would 
be obliged to detain him until he received an answer. 
Bigelow was confined in Captain Craig's tent on the Isle 
aux Noix for ten days, waiting for an answer to the dis- 
patches, which had been sent, he was informed, to Que- 
bec, whither General Carleton had gone on the 20th in a 
canoe. At the expiration of the ten days, Bigelow was 
furnished with Carleton's answer, and was escorted at 
sunset beyond the British lines. 

Sir Guy Carleton returned by way of answer a public 
address, in the shape of a general order, severely criti- 
cising the course of the colonies in declaring their inde- 
pendence, and attributing all their troubles with the 
mother country, in the most opprobrious language, to 
the misguidance of their public men. This order was 
sealed up in an envelope without note or comment, and 
addressed to " George Washington, Esquire," but, being 
intended for general circulation among the American 
troops, an open copy of it was given to Major Bigelow 
and each of the boat's crew. It contained also the fol- 
lowing intemperate paragraph: — "His Excellency Gen- 
eral Carleton orders the commanding officers of corps 



120 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

will take special care that every one under their com- 
mand be informed that letters or messages from rebels, 
traitors in arms against their king, rioters, disturbers of 
the public peace, plunderers, robbers, assassins, or mur- 
derers are on no occasion to be admitted. That should 
emissaries from such lawless men again presume to ap- 
proach the army, whether under the name of flag-of- 
truce men, or embassadors, except when they come to 
implore the king's mercy, their persons shall be immedi- 
ately seized, and committed to close confinement, in order 
to be proceeded against as the law directs, their papers 
and letters, for whomsoever, even for the commander-in- 
chief, are to be delivered to the provost-marshal, that, 
unread and unopened, they may be burned by the hands 
of the common hangman." Well might General Schuy- 
ler write to General Washington : — " General Carleton 
has put it out of our power to have any intercourse with 
him on the subject-matter contained in the resolves, or, 
indeed, on any other." Washington disposed of the order 
with dignity and brevity. "I shall not trouble Con- 
gress," he wrote to John Hancock, "with my strictures 
upon this indecent, illiberal, and scurrilous performance 
so highly unbecoming the character of a soldier and a 
gentleman." 

Though in the form of a general order to his own 
troops, this document seems to have been intended only 
as a menace to the Americans, for shortly afterwards 
Carleton issued another order to his troops, in which he 
admonished them not to return evil for evil. " The 
Englishman, always brave," he wrote, "will not forget 
that he is accustomed to act magnanimously and philan- 
thropically. It behooves the troops of the king to spare 
the blood of his subjects : it behooves the king himself; 



1 



CONQUEST OP CANADA. 121 

and it is the duty of all his faithful subjects to obtain for 
the inhabitants of this country that noble liberty with 
which they were once blessed." 

Of the sixteen regiments which then composed the 
army, the four from Pennsylvania comprised more than 
half the whole effective force. Out of thirty-one hun- 
dred men at Ticonderoga fit for duty, they contributed 
sixteen hundred. This was due to the superior material 
of which these regiments were composed. The Pennsyl- 
vanians were in all respects better soldiers and better 
men, as the trying ordeal through which they had all 
passed abundantly proved, and as the general officers 
(many of whom were from the Eastern States) also fre- 
quently bore witness. They were described by Colonel 
Trumbull as "the Slite of the army." The Eastern regi- 
ments included within their ranks negroes and Indians, 
as well as men who were both too young and too old for 
military duty. 

The Pennsylvanians, at their own request, had been 
united in one brigade. "It will tend to the furtherance 
of the service much if the Pennsylvanians should be 
brigaded together," wrote one of the field officers to 
Gates, "and I am certain, from what I have observed, 
that we shall be happier, and act better, if the Eastern 
and Southern troops are in distant brigades." All troops 
south of the Delaware were then known as Southern 
troops. They were divided by the lake, and there was 
Httle or no intercourse between them. Indeed, the Penn- 
sylvanians did not attempt to disguise their contempt for 
their Eastern comrades. At no time in the course of the 
war was this feeling of sectional animosity stronger than 
it then was at Ticonderoga. Charles Cushing, of Massa- 
chusetts, refers to it when, in writing of the battle of 



122 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Three Rivers to his brother, from Crown Point, he 
says : — " It gives me pleasure to acquaint you that none 
of the 'damn'd Yankees' were there, as the Southern 
troops are pleased to term us." 

"There is another evil of a very serious complexion, 
which has manifested itself in our camp," wrote Dr. 
Thacher, who was the surgeon of Whitcomb's Massa- 
chusetts regiment. " Since the troops from the Southern 
States have been incorporated and associated in military 
duty with those from New England, a strong prejudice 
has assumed its unhappy influence and drawn a line of 
distinction between them. Many of the officers from the 
South are gentlemen of education, and unaccustomed to 
that equality which prevails in New England." 

A New England brigadier-general, writing of the sec- 
tional animosity between the troops, says : — " It has 
already risen to such a height that the Pennsylvania 
and New England troops would as soon fight each other 
as the enemy. Officers of all ranks are indiscriminately 
treated in the most contemptible manner, and whole col- 
onies traduced and vilified as cheats, knaves, cowards, 
poltroons, hypocrites, and every term of reproach, for 
no other reason but because they are situated east of 
New York." 

This sectional feeling broke out into a scene of vio- 
lence during the following winter at Ticonderoga, between 
Wayne's Pennsylvania regiment and Whitcomb's Massa- 
chusetts. Whitcomb had permitted one of his sons, who 
was a soldier in his regiment, to set up a shoemaker's 
bench in his father's quarters, and he detailed another 
son to act as his servant. This act of degradation so 
incensed the Pennsylvanians that an assault was made 
upon the colonel's quarters on Christmas day. The shoe- 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 123 

maker's bench was thrown out, and Colonel Whitcomb 
assaulted. This was followed by further scenes of vio- 
lence, during which thirty or forty rounds were fired by 
Wayne's regiment at Whitcomb's men, driving them from 
their tents and barracks and wounding several of them. 
The good-natured Colonel Whitcomb entirely overlooked 
the affair, and none of the parties were punished. 

This sectional animosity occasioned- Washington no 
little anxiety when his attention was called to it by 
General Schuyler. "I must entreat your exertions to 
do away the unhappy, pernicious distinctions and jeal- 
ousies between the troops of different governments," he 
wrote from New York on the 17th of July. " Enjoin 
this upon the officers, and let them inculcate and press 
home to the soldiers the necessity of order and harmony 
among those who are embarked in one common cause, 
and mutually contending for all that freemen hold dear. 
I am persuaded if the officers will but exert themselves, 
that these animosities and disorders will in a great meas- 
ure subside." 

Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and the other fortifications 
along this line of communication, were well supplied by 
the British with ordnance and ordnance stores. Though 
the garrison at Ticonderoga consisted of only thirty 
effective men at the time it was taken by Ethan Allen 
in May, 1775, and that of Crown Point of only a ser- 
geant and twelve men, large quantities of ordnance and 
ordnance stores fell into Allen's hands. These soon at- 
tracted the attention of Washington, who stood greatly 
in need of them to carry on the siege of Boston. He 
accordingly sent Colonel Henry Knox in November, 
1775, to Ticonderoga, to procure a supply for him. This 
officer succeeded with much difficulty in getting them 



124 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

over the lake to Fort George. To provide for their fur- 
ther transportation he had forty-two exceedingly strong 
sleds constructed, and procured eighty yoke of oxen to 
drag them. This long ordnance train wound its slow 
way down the Hudson. The snow was three feet deep 
when it started, but it was soon delayed by a thaw which 
weakened the ice and spoiled the sledding. By the 7th 
of January, however, the frost returned, and the first 
division crossed the river on the ice at Albany, assisted 
by the citizens of that city, and proceeded on its way 
over the hills to the Connecticut river. " It appeared 
to me almost a miracle," Colonel Knox noted in his 
diary, "that people with heavy loads should be able to 
get up and down such hills as are here," from the tops 
of which "we might almost have seen all the kingdoms 
of the earth." 

From the Connecticut river they moved on to Boston, 
where the guns were placed in position on Dorchester 
Heights, and compelled the evacuation of Boston by the 
British. 

This "stripping Ticonderoga so entirely of its heavy 
cannon," wrote Charles Lee to Washington, on the 29th of 
February, when he expected to take command of that de- 
partment, "is a most unfortunate circumstance, and the 
transportation of them from this place is a business of 
monstrous difficulties, expense, and labor." Yet, notwith- 
standing this heavy drain, the army which now occupied 
Ticonderoga had one hundred and twenty cannon for its 
defense besides those which had been taken from the 
fortress to arm the fleet. They included 1 thirty-two, 1 
twenty-four, 9 eighteen, 20 twelve, 41 nine, 26 six, 21 
four, and 1 three pounders. They had only forty-three 
garrison carriages on which to mount these guns, and 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 125 

many of these were unavailable because the guns would 
not fit. The only field-carriages they had were the seven 
which had been saved in the retreat. To remedy this 
serious difficulty, wheelwrights began to arrive from the 
South by the 1st of August, but, like the other artificers 
which had preceded them, their work was greatly re- 
tarded by the want of tools and materials. In addition 
to the embarrassments, occasioned by the want of gun- 
carriages, the ordnance was rendered almost useless by 
the want of sponges, rammers, worms, and other atti7'ail. 
There were but very few of these in the garrison, and 
the army had lost the limited supply with which it was 
provided in Canada. The ordnance stores contained 
forty-eight hundred and twenty-two round and three 
hundred and twenty-four case shot, by actual count, and 
about two thousand cartridges, three-fourths of which 
were unfilled. There were but few musket-balls and 
buckshot, very little lead and cartridge paper, and gun- 
ners were very scarce. To complete their armament. 
Gates called upon Congress for 6 six and 6 twelve 
pounders, 4 eight-inch howitzers, and 6 Coehorn mortars, 
all of brass, none of which Congress was able to supply, 
but all which they ordered to be cast as soon as possible. 
He also called for fifteen tons of powder, ten tons of 
lead, and a supply of flints and cartridge paper. Con- 
gress at once ordered fifteen tons of powder, twenty 
thousand flints, ten tons of lead, and one thousand reams 
of cartridge paper to be sent to him; but their orders 
were given with far greater liberality than their resources 
justified, though two powder mills near Philadelphia were 
then delivering twenty-five hundred pounds per week, 
and there were four others in the province of Pennsyl- 
vania in active operation. 



126 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

It was the 6th of September before the army received 
the cartridge paper, and the last day of October before 
even six tons of powder and a quantity of lead reached 
Ticonderoga. 

In July, a general court-martial, of which Colonel 
Poor was president, was convened for the purpose of 
trying Colonel Moses Hazen upon charges preferred by 
General Arnold, growing out of injury to the goods which 
Arnold had seized from the merchants of Montreal. 
Arnold charged that the injury resulted from Colonel 
Hazen's disobedience of his orders. Colonel Hazen was 
honorably acquitted of all responsibility by the court. 
At this finding Arnold was very indignant. He had 
offered Major Scott, under whose charge the goods had 
been transported from Montreal to Chamblee, as a wit- 
ness. The court being satisfied that Major Scott was 
interested, rejected his testimony, whereupon Arnold, in 
a very contemptuous, disorderly, and menacing manner, 
filed a protest with the court, which he accompanied with 
abusive and profane language. The court refused to 
allow the protest to go upon its records, and, through 
Colonel Poor, the president, wrote to Arnold, remonstra- 
ting against his conduct, and concluding with the follow- 
ing words: — "Nothing but an open acknowledgment of 
your error will be received as satisfactory." This ac- 
knowledgment Arnold positively declined to make. After 
stating that his protest was not designed as they had 
construed it, he wrote in reply as follows : — "You may 
depend, as soon as this disagreeable service is at an end 
(which God grant may soon be the case), I will by no 
means withhold from any gentleman of the court the 
satisfaction his nice honor may require. Your demand 
I shall not comply with." The court thereupon re- 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 127 

quested Colonel Trumbull, the Deputy Adjutant-Gen- 
eral, to put General Arnold in arrest. The only answer 
received to this request was the following order : — " The 
general court-martial of which Colonel Poor was pres- 
ident is dissolved." General Arnold appealed from the 
decision of the court-martial to Congress, and the court 
also submitted their statement to that body. 

There can be but one explanation of the disrespectful 
manner in which the request of the court was treated by 
General Gates, and that is to be found in the following 
paragraph from the letter which he had addressed to 
Congress when he transmitted the papers to them: — "I 
was obliged to act dictatorially, and dissolve the court- 
martial the instant they demanded General Arnold to be 
put under arrest. The United States must not be de- 
prived of that excellent officer's services at this im- 
portant moment." 

The laurels won by Arnold at Quebec were still green, 
and his services as commander of the fleet, which was 
then ready to sail, were indispensable. The exigency of 
the service required that many things should pass un- 
noticed for the general good of the cause, otherwise 
Arnold's conduct then, as ever, strongly tinctured with 
arrogance, would not have gone without the rebuke it 
deserved. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Terror Created by tlie News of the Retreat — Measures for raising Reinforce- 
ments — Reports of Small-pox interfere with Enlistments — Additional Boun- 
ties Offered — The Militia Rendezvous at Number Four — New Road from 
Mount Independence to Rutland — Sufferings of the Militia in the Wilder- 
ness — Reinforcements Retarded by Inoculation — The Sick required to Dis- 
close, under oath, how they took the Disease — Alarm at the Re-introduction 
of Small-pox by the Militia — Disappearance of Small-pox from the Army — 
Arrival of Reinforcements at Ticonderoga — Formation of a New Brigade — 
General James Brickett — Washington orders three of the fullest Regiments 
to be sent from Boston — Their arrival at Ticonderoga — A Company of 
Mohican Indians — Construction of the Jersey Redoubt — Completion of the 
Intrenchments about the French Lines — Delays in the Works on Mount In- 
dependence — Colonels Reed and St. Clair appointed Brigadier-Generals — 
General James Reed — Conflicting Claims of Majors Wood and Morris to 
the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment — A Rest 
from Unremitting Labors — Court-Martial of Deserters and other Offenders 
— Cleanly appearance of the Pennsylvania Troops. 

The news that the army was retreating from Canada 
filled the pioneers upon the outlying settlements of north- 
ern New York and New Hampshire grants with great 
consternation. They pictured to their minds the horrors 
that would follow when their homes were exposed to 
bands of hostile savages, and delayed not to learn the 
worst, but hastily abandoned their settlements for places 
of greater security — carrying terror with them into the 
more thickly settled country to the south. 

Measures were at once taken by the authorities of 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut for 
raising reinforcements. Recruiting was actively begun 
throughout these provinces, but coupled with the news 

(128) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 129 

of the retreat of the army, and the threatening dangers 
of invasion which accompanied it, came, as a damper 
upon the patriotic zeal which prompted the colonists to 
take up arms for the defense of their borders, horrible 
stories of the loathsome pestilence which the army was 
bringing with it. It more than doubled, to their minds, 
the dangers with which they were threatened. The dread 
of small-pox was greater than the dread of the enemy. 
In New Hampshire as high as fifty dollars was offered 
for substitutes. In Massachusetts the bounty offered to 
recruits for the army in Canada was £1 , whilst that 
offered to recruits for Washington's army at New York 
was only <£3. In addition to that, the regiments des- 
tined for Canada were offered one penny a mile as mile- 
age, and one day's additional pay for every twenty miles 
traveled by them, in order to expedite their march. In 
Connecticut it was found necessary to offer an additional 
bounty of <£3 over that given to troops intended for ser- 
vice in Boston and New York, to induce men to enlist 
in the Northern army. "The small-pox," wrote Gov- 
ernor Trumbull to Congress, "is a more terrible enemy 
than the British troops, and strikes a greater dread into 
our men who have never had it." Terrible though the 
ravages of this disease in the army had been, yet the 
reports of it acquired additional shades of horror as 
they were transmitted from place to place, and so seri- 
ously did these exaggerated reports interfere with enlist- 
ments, that the Connecticut Council of Safety found it 
necessary to send Dr. John Ely — a physician skilled in 
the treatment of small-pox — to Ticonderoga, to inquire 
into and report the true sanitary condition of the army. 
His report of the rigid measures which had been adopted 
to rid the army of this pestilence had the effect of 



130 THE CAMPAIGN FOK THE 

re-assuring the public mind to some extent, and in a 
measure allayed the fears of those who were disposed 
to enlist. 

But a few weeks elapsed after the news of the retreat 
reached the eastern provinces before their militia were 
marching to reinforce the army. The first company 
arrived at Skenesborough from the adjacent country on 
the 24th of July. The Connecticut militia marched in 
the latter part of July by the way of Bennington to 
Skenesborough, over the road which Major Skene had 
built to the lower settlements for use during the winter 
months when the navigation of the lake was closed. 
Those from New Hampshire soon lined the roads which 
led to the towns on the Connecticut river. Those from 
Massachusetts marched to Springfield, and up the valley 
of the Connecticut river. By the early part of August, 
the militia from these provinces began to rendezvous at 
Number Four (Charlestown) and the neighboring towns 
in large numbers. From this point their common route 
lay over the Green Mountains to Skenesborough ; but 
their further progress was delayed by the wretched con- 
dition of the roads, which the heavy rains had rendered 
almost impassable. The low country about Skenes- 
borough was also so overflowed that communication was 
difficult. General Gates was obliged to send out a force 
of four hundred men from Ticonderoga to repair the 
roads before the reinforcements could proceed. From 
Skenesborough these troops were carried to Ticonderoga, 
the distance of thirty miles, in flat-boats. Later in the 
season the communication between Ticonderoga and the 
Eastern States was greatly facilitated by the construction 
of a new road from the foot of Mount Independence for 
about thirty-five miles over the broken and ridgy country, 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 131 

through the woods to Rutland, at which point a new 
bridge was built over Otter creek. 

The militia came in such numbers, and with such pre- 
cipitation, that proper provision had not been made for 
them in the wilderness through which they were obliged 
to pass. Transportation was difficult to procure and very- 
expensive. The roads, which were of the most primitive 
kind and of the worst possible description, were heavy, 
and the progress they made over them was necessarily 
slow. The Massachusetts troops brought an abundant 
supply of good tents and camp utensils with them. 
Those from the other colonies came without either. The 
conclusion of a day's march, therefore, often found them 
beyond the reach of either food or shelter ; or, if they 
had food, without the means to prepare it with. The 
sufferings of this latter number, therefore, were great. 
They often arose from their restless bivouac, weary, wet, 
and hungry, to resume their spiritless march on the fol- 
lowing day. 

The progress of the reinforcements was further re- 
tarded by inoculation. New difficulties and embarrass- 
ments were thus ever arising on every hand to increase 
the burdens of those dauntless men to whom we are in- 
debted for our liberties. The situation of affairs on the 
northern frontier was deemed too perilous to admit of the 
delays necessary for inoculation. It was therefore pro- 
hibited, and the troops were hurried forward without it. 
Many of the fainter-hearted among them, however, both 
officers and men, were overcome by their dread of small- 
pox as they approached the army, and underwent inocu- 
lation on the way, in disobedience of orders, at Number 
Four, Williamstown, Keene, and Claremont. Numbers 
also applied to the local physicians for it, but were 



132 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

refused. In strong contrast with this conduct was the 
courage of the greater number, who refused to receive it 
themselves and condemned it in others. 

It was from small-pox more than any other thing that 
the Northern army had suffered. The strictest measures 
had been taken to eliminate it, as the success or failure 
of the cause depended upon its removal. But notwith- 
standing all the precautionary measures that had been 
taken the disease was not effectually destroyed. New 
cases kept constantly breaking out. "Everything about 
this army is infected with the pestilence," wrote Gen- 
eral Gates, "the clothes, the blankets, the air, and the 
ground we walk upon." To guard against its further 
spread the following general order had been made : — " The 
commanding officers of regiments and corps are to be 
answerable that every officer, non-commissioned officer, 
and soldier, who shall hereafter be infected with the 
small-pox, be immediately sent to the general hospital 
at Lake George; but previous to their being sent they 
are to make oath as follows: — 'I do solemnly swear, 
by the ever-living God, that I have not received the in- 
fection of the small-pox by inoculation, or by any appli- 
cation internal or external, but have taken the same in a 
manner entirely unknown to me, and, as I firmly believe, 
by the oath I now take, in the natural way, and no other. 
So help me God.' In case any man refuses to take the 
above oath, his conscience accusing him that it would be 
perjury so to do, he is to declare the name of the person 
who inoculated him, and the place where it was done, 
that the perpetrators of so villainous an act may be in- 
stantly brought to condign punishment." 

The prospect of its reintroduction, by the reinforce- 
ments of militia, now that the army was nearly free from 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 133 

it, was met on all hands with alarm and indignation. 
"Inoculation for the small-pox I find has been practiced 
by the troops on their way to join the army," wrote Gov- 
ernor Trumbull. "1 hope a practice so pernicious in 
every respect will be discouraged. If it is not timely 
restrained, it appears to me it must prove fatal to all our 
operations, and may ruin the country." 

General Gates complained bitterly of it, declaring that 
it would sacrifice the army; demanding that the physi- 
cians who practiced it be punished ; and threatening the 
officers who had suffered it with court-martial upon their 
arrival at Skenesborough. 

General Schuyler, who learned it upon his return from 
the conference with the Six Nations at German Flats, 
wrote at once to General Waterbury, who was in com- 
mand at Skenesborough, "You will please to dispatch 
three or four trusty officers to the different roads which 
the militia take in their way to Skenesborough, with 
positive orders to remove all officers and soldiers in- 
fected with the small-pox to a distance from the roads ; 
no excuse is to be taken ; no plea of danger to the in- 
fected is to be attended to. The life of individuals is 
not to be put into competition with that of the States." 

Among those who were turned back in pursuance of 
these orders were Colonel Kuggles Woodbridge, of the 
Massachusetts militia, and Major William Stacey. 

Fortunately, the reports were somewhat exaggerated. 
What real danger there was was removed by the pre- 
cautions taken, and with the approach of September all 
trace of this loathsome disease had disappeared. Unfor- 
tunately, all other diseases did not disappear with it. 
There were still prevalent in the camp at that time, ac- 
cording to the report of a board of surgeons, "bilious, 



134 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

remitting, and intermitting fevers, with some of the 
putrid kind, dysenteries, diarrheas, with rheumatic com- 
plaints." The medical chests were still destitute of a 
number of very necessary medicines, "and the sick were 
without the necessary comforts of barley, coffee, choc- 
olate, ginger, oatmeal, rice, sugar, mutton, baume, sage, 
&c." 

On the 5th of August a regiment of Massachusetts 
militia, under Colonel Edward Wigglesworth, five hun- 
dred strong and in a good state of discipline, arrived at 
Ticonderoga and went into camp near the old fort. They 
were followed a day or two later by two regiments of 
New Hampshire militia under Colonel Isaac Wyman, six 
hundred and six strong, and Colonel Joshua Wingate, six 
hundred and twenty-nine strong, and another regiment 
of Massachusetts militia under Colonel Jonathan Read, 
one hundred and fifty-two strong. 

By the third week in August the army at Ticonderoga 
was further reinforced by two regiments of Massachu- 
setts militia, under Colonel Moses Wheelock, with five 
hundred and thirty-three men, and Colonel Ruggles 
Woodbridge, with five hundred and seventy-nine men ; 
and two regiments of Connecticut militia, under Colonel 
Heman Swift, four hundred and forty-five men, and 
Colonel Samuel Mott, two hundred and eighty-two men. 
The army was further strengthened by a company of 
artillery, one hundred and five strong, commanded by 
Captain S. Badlam. 

The New Hampshire regiments of Wingate and Wy- 
man were assigned to the third brigade on Mount Inde- 
pendence, under Colonel John Stark. The Connecticut 
regiments of Swift and Mott were assigned to the first 
brigade on Mount Independence, commanded by Colonel 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 135 

Maxwell during the illness of Colonel Greaton, and the 
Massachusetts regiments of Read, Wigglesworth, Wheel- 
ock, and Woodbridge, who had been enlisted until the 
1st of December, were formed into a new brigade, called 
the fifth, under the command of Brigadier-Greneral James 
Brickett,* of Massachusetts, who had his headquarters 
in the old fort, and had command of the defense of the 
covert way and the works depending thereon. The brig- 
ade was encamped on the high ground to the westward 
of old Fort Ticonderoga, and later began to repair the 
five old redoubts which the French had thrown up in 
the low land on the lake shore, to the north-east. 

On the 9 th of July, Washington, by authority of Con- 
gress, ordered General Artemas Ward, at Boston, to de- 
tach three of the fullest Continental regiments stationed 
in Massachusetts forthwith to march to Ticonderoga. 
"It being evident, from a variety of concurring circum- 
stances," he wrote to General Ward, "that the British 
armies mean to direct their most vigorous operations this 
campaign against the State of New York, to penetrate 
into it by way of the lakes and the North river, and to 
unite their attacks. The importance of it has induced 
Congress to take further measures for baffling their de- 
signs and rendering it more secure. You will see by the 
resolves now transmitted, that the Northern army is to be 

* James Brickett was born in 1737, and practiced medicine at Haverhill, 
Massachusetts. He was a surgeon in the British army at Ticonderoga, in 1759, 
and was lieutenant-colonel at the battle of Bunker Hill, where he was wounded. 
On the 11th of July, 1776, he was appointed by the Massachusetts Council, brig- 
adier-general of the forces of that State which were sent to reinforce the army 
at Ticonderoga. In the following year he marched in the ranks of the militia to 
reinforce the army under Gates, at Saratoga, but did not reach there until after 
the surrender of Burgoyne. Gates appointed him a brigadier-general of militia, 
and he commanded the troops which escorted Burgoyne and his suite to Albany, 
and subsequently formed the guard of the British army in their march to Cam- 
bridge. He died at Haverhill, December 10th, 1818. 



136 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

augmented by part of the troops under your command ; 
and I do desire that you will immediately detach for 
that purpose three of the fullest regiments forthwith to 
march to Ticonderoga, or such other place as the army 
may be at, and put themselves under the order and di- 
rections of the general officer commanding the same." 
The resolves above referred to also authorized Washing- 
ton to call out an equal number of the militia of that 
State. 

The following Massachusetts regiments of Continental 
troops were accordingly detached by General Ward : — 
Colonel Asa Whitcomb's, four hundred and forty-nine 
men ; Colonel Samuel Brewer's, six hundred and thirty- 
one men ; Colonel Aaron Willard's, three hundred and 
eighty-seven men, and Colonel Edmund Phinney's, two 
hundred and eighteen men. They reached Ticonderoga 
early in September. Brewer's and Williard's regiments 
encamped near the saw-mill which had been built by the 
French, on the outlet of Lake George, as part of the 
fifth brigade, and built a redoubt there for the protection 
of the pass ; Whitcomb's was assigned to the fourth 
brigade, under St. Clair, and was ordered to encamp in 
the vacant space reserved for the Sixth Pennsylvania, 
which was still at Crown Point. Phinney's was sent to 
Fort George, but returned to Ticonderoga after the de- 
feat of the fleet, and was assigned to the second brigade. 

An independent company of Mohican Indians from 
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, under command of Captain 
Ezra Whittlesey, was encamped near Brewer's regiment, 
distinguished from the enemy's Indians by a blue and 
red cap. They were intended for use as scouts, but 
were so undisciplined and disorderly that the sentries 
on the bridge below the saw-mill and on the side of the 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 137 

French lines had strict orders not to let them pass with- 
out written permission. They were discharged and sent 
to their homes in the latter part of October. 

On the 5th of August, the First New Jersey Regiment 
was transferred from Stark's brigade to the Pennsylva- 
nia brigade, and proceeded, under the command of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Matthias Ogden, to construct a redoubt, 
known as the Jersey redoubt, in the low lands on the 
point of the peninsula to the east of old Fort Ticonde- 
roga, where the French had a strong redoubt in 1758. 
Colonel Wind had gone home and did not return until 
September. This redoubt, Avhen completed, mounted 1 
thirty-two, 2 eighteen, 3 twelve, and 2 nine pounders. 

Work upon the fortifications about the old French 
lines progressed very satisfactorily, notwithstanding the 
unfavorable weather and the scarcity of tools. The Au- 
gust days were hot, the nights cold, and the wet weather 
continued ; but the captains, who had been without the 
comforts of a bed and sheets since the 24th of March, 
got their tents floored, berths erected in them, and were 
supplied with good blankets, which made them comfort- 
able for the first time in five months. By the last week 
in August their lines were nearly completed. They con- 
sisted of a rampart six to eight feet thick, constructed of 
earth supported by fascines and neatly sodded. Outside 
of the rampart was a ditch, ten feet wide by five feet 
deep. On the other side of the ditch was a stockade of 
sharpened stakes driven obliquely outward. 

Captain Roman's company of Pennsylvania artillery 
was encamped within the French lines, where they were 
reinforced in September by the New England compa- 
nies commanded by Captain Ebenezer Stevens, who was 
placed in command of all the artillery on the west side 



138 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

of the lake. These artillery companies in eight days 
made carriages for upwards of forty-seven pieces, and 
mounted them. 

The works on Mount Independence progressed very 
slowly, and by no means satisfactorily. Much time was 
lost by the New Hampshire and Connecticut troops in 
covering themselves with huts, they having brought no 
tents with them. Attention was first called by the Gen- 
eral to the backward state of the works, and the " shame- 
ful dilatoriousness" of the troops was finally rebuked in 
general orders. 

On the 25th of August, it was announced that Colonel 
James Reed,* of New Hampshire, and Colonel Arthur 
St. Clair, of Pennsylvania, had been appointed brigadier- 
generals by Congress. Upon the promotion of Colonel 
St. Clair, Joseph Wood, who had succeeded to the lieu- 
tenant-colonelcy upon the resignation of Allen, became 
Colonel of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment. Con- 
siderable contention and a good deal of feeling grew out 
of the promotion of Wood to succeed Allen, as was very 
often the case when promotions were made in the Conti- 
nental army. The resignation of Allen created the first 



* James Reed was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, in 1724, and had served 
in the Indian and French wars. He was a captain in the British army under 
General Abercrombie, and was present at his defeat before Ticonderoga, in July, 
1758. He was also with General Amherst in the following year when Ticonde- 
roga fell into his hands. He was made colonel of a regiment of New Hampshire 
troops, June Ist, 1775, with which he marched to Boston and took a conspicuous 
part in the battle of Bunker's Hill. His regiment was incorporated into the 
Continental army upon its organization in January, 1776. After the evacuation 
of Boston by the British, he marched with his regiment to New York, and from 
there to Canada, in the brigade of General Sullivan. Shortly after the retreat of 
the army to Ticonderoga, he was attacked with the fever which was prevalent at 
that place, and was removed to the hosintal at Fort George. He was made brig- 
adier-general by Congress, August 9th, 1776. His illness resulted in the loss of 
his sight, and put an end to his military career. He died at Fitchburg, Massa- 
chusetts, February 13th, 1807. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 139 

vacancy that had occurred since the organization of the 
Pennsylvania regiments, and no plan of promotion had 
been adopted by Congress. Wood was Morris' junior 
officer, and if the field officers were to be promoted by 
the line, Morris was entitled to the vacant rank. If they 
were to rise regime ntally, it belonged to Wood. In this 
instance. Congress adopted the regimental plan, after 
considerable discussion wherein, though not strictly rel- 
evant to the issue, the respective claims of the two offi- 
cers were strongly pressed by their friends. General 
Gates espoused the cause of Morris, and a letter from 
Captain Jonathan Jones to Major Morgan, at Philadel- 
phia, criticising Major Wood's conduct at the battle of 
Three Rivers, was used against that officer. Major 
Morris considered himself greatly aggrieved at the pro- 
motion of Wood. "Congress having been pleased to 
promote a junior officer over me," he wrote to a friend 
in Philadelphia, from Ticonderoga, "has rendered a con- 
tinuance in the service under the present circumstances 
incompatible with my honor. Nothing but a sense of 
duty toward the public, as weU as not being able to 
answer it to my own feelings, prevented my resigning 
immediately on hearing of Major Wood's preferment." 
Congress shortly after admitted its error by adopting 
the plan of promoting field officers by the line, and the 
wrong done Major Morris was partially atoned by his 
promotion, two months later, to the lieutenant-colonelcy 
of his own regiment. 

The troops labored on the intrenchments unremittingly, 
without a day's rest, for ten weeks, until Sunday, the 22d 
of September, when the General ordered all work except 
that necessary for the equipment of vessels to be sus- 
pended, and divine service to be held in every brigade, 



140 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

at which all troops were ordered to be present with their 
arms and accoutrements in good order. 

Time was found, in the midst of these scenes of mili- 
tary activity, to try many deserters and other offenders 
by court-martial. They were usually sentenced to receive 
forty stripes save one, on their bare backs, at guard-mount- 
ing, at the head of their regiments. As an additional 
penalty, one was sentenced "to wear a withe round his 
neck for fourteen days as a mark of ignominy," and an- 
other, "to be drummed out of the army with a halter 
round his neck, and sent over Lake George." 

Though the labors on the intrenchments were inces- 
sant, great attention was paid to the cleanly appearance 
of the Pennsylvania troops. Soap was provided in abund- 
ance, and the men were required to appear upon parade 
with "their hair well powdered and neatly tied and 
plaited." 




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CHAPTER XII. 

Work on the Fleet at Skenesborough — Arnold Assigned to the Command — 
Arrival of part of the Fleet at Crown Point — A False Alarm— Conflict of 
Authority between General Arnold and Captain Wynkoop — The Fleet Sails 
down Lake Champlain — Arrives at Windmill Point — Position of the British 
Army — A Boat's Crew driven from the Shore with Loss of Life — The Fleet 
Cannonades the Wood, which occasions a False Report of an Engagement 
with the Enemy — Activity at Ticonderoga and Albany in Consequence 
Thereof — False Eeports from the Mohawk Country — The Fleet Ascends the 
Lake and Anchors behind Valcour Island — Colonel Edward Wigglesworth 
— The Eow-Galleys join the Fleet — Sickness among the Ship-carpenters at 
Skenesborough. 

While the troops were busy fortifying Ticonderoga 
and Mount Independence, the ship-carpenters who had 
been sent up from the Atlantic seaboard were rapidly 
pushing forward the work on the fleet at Skenesborough. 
General Arnold, who had had considerable experience in 
ship-building and navigation as a merchant before the 
war, had been assigned by General Gates to the com- 
mand of the fleet. He had turned his attention in the 
same direction after the fall of Ticonderoga in the pre- 
ceding year, when he armed, manned, and equipped a 
little squadron upon the lake, consisting of a sloop, a 
schooner, and a flotilla of bateaux. He gave his per- 
sonal supervision to the construction of the fleet, as- 
sisted by General David Waterbury, of Connecticut, 
who had been appointed second officer, and of whom 
Gates spoke "as an able seaman and a brave officer." 
There was a small garrison stationed at Skenesborough 

(141) 



142 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

for the protection of the carpenters (composed at differ- 
ent times of Wynkoop's and parts of Swift's and Van 
Dyke's regiments), who occupied the large stone man- 
sion and other stone buildings which had been erected 
there by Governor Skene. 

On the 23d of July, ten sergeants, six corporals, six 
drummers, and a hundred and two privates were drafted 
from the four Pennsylvania regiments, to serve as sea- 
men and marines on board the fleet. 

By the 5th of August, the schooner Royal Savage, 
Captain Jacobus Wynkoop, carrying 4 six-pounders, 8 
four-pounders, and fifty men ; the sloop Enterprise, Cap- 
tain Dickenson, carrying 12 four-pounders and fifty men 
(which had been captured by Arnold from the British at 
St. Johns in May, 1775); the schooner Revenge, Captain 
Seaman, carrying 4 four and 4 two pounders and thirty- 
five men ; and the gondolas Boston," Captain Sumner ; 
New Haven, Captain Samuel Mansfield; and Providence, 
Captain Simonds, carrying each 1 twelve and 2 six 
pounders and forty-five men, were ready for service, 
and sailed down the lake to Crown Point. Within a few 
days they were joined there by the schooner Liberty, 
Captain Premier, carrying 4 four and 4 two pounders 
and thirty-five men (which had been captured at Skenes- 
borough by Captain Herrick, in May, 1775); and gon- 
dolas Spitfire, Captain Ulmer ; New York, Captain Reed, 
and Connecticut, Captain Grant, each carrying 1 twelve 
and 2 six pounders and forty-five men. All of these 
vessels had been rigged and received their armament at 
Ticonderoga. 

At ten o'clock on the night of the 15th, Arnold joined 
them at Crown Point, having left Colonel Greaton, while 
his health permitted, to command the first brigade. In 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 143 

common with General Schuyler, and most others whose 
duties exposed them to the malaria of the district, Ar- 
nold was suffering from a slight attack of intermittent 
fever. On the 17th, a party of the Sixth Pennsylvania 
Regiment, posted seven miles down the lake as a cover- 
ing party for the oar-makers, had built a large fire, which 
was interpreted as a signal that the enemy was approach- 
ing. Arnold at once sent Colonel Hartley with one hun- 
dred men to their assistance, and ordered the schooners 
Revenge and Liberty to move down the lake. The 
schooners had no sooner got under way than they were 
brought to by a shot across their bows from the Royal 
Savage. It was occasioned by a conflict of authority 
between General Arnold and Captain Wynkoop. The 
latter contended that having been appointed by General 
Schuyler in May (under authority of Congress and the 
province of New York), to the command of all the ves- 
sels on Lake Champlain, he had not been regularly su- 
perseded by Arnold's appointment, which came only from 
General Gates. General Gates' attention was called im- 
mediately to the conduct of Captain Wynkoop, where- 
upon he put him under arrest, and sent him to General 
Schuyler at Albany. 

On the 24th, Arnold sailed from Crown Point with the 
fleet, ten vessels in number. His quarters were on board 
Wynkoop's vessel, the Royal Savage, to the command of 
which Captain Hawley was subsequently appointed. On 
the night of the 25th, the fleet anchored at Willsborough, 
below Split Rock, where it was overtaken on the follow- 
ing day by a violent storm from the north-east. Further 
progress was not only impossible, but by two o'clock the 
storm had increased to such a degree of violence that 
the safety of the fleet made it necessary to weigh anchor 



144 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

and ascend the lake, before the gale, to Button-mould 
Bay, on the east side of the lake above Split Rock, where 
they found shelter. The gale continued without inter- 
mission until the 1st of September, when the fleet again 
proceeded down the lake, under the influence of a fresh 
southerly breeze, and reached Schuyler's Island on the 
evening of the 2d. Navigation of the lake beyond that 
point being unsafe at night, they anchored there until the 
following morning. 

On the 3d, with the same favorable wind, they reached 
Windmill Point, at the northern end of the lake, within 
two or three miles of the Canadian border. 

An outpost of the enemy, several hundred strong, oc- 
cupied Isle aux Tete, six miles below, and the country 
intervening between that island and Windmill Point. 
Upon the approach of the fleet this advance guard re- 
treated precipitately, with the report that the rebels had 
appeared in their front with forty vessels. 

At that time General Eraser occupied Isle aux Noix, 
to which place he had advanced on the 10th of August 
with five companies of grenadiers, five companies of light 
infantry, and the twenty-fourth regiment. Masons had 
previously been sent there to repair the old French de- 
fences of the island. It had been selected as the base 
of supplies for the British army which was about to cross 
the lake, and for that purpose had been strongly forti- 
fied. Magazines, depots, block-houses, and barracks had 
been erected there. Carleton, who had returned from 
Quebec, had his headquarters at Chamblee, where Gen- 
eral Burgoyne also was with the first brigade, and Gen- 
eral Phillips with the corps of artillery. The sixty- 
second regiment and two hundred Germans were at St. 
Johns, under Lieutenant-Colonel Specht. The remainder 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 145 

of the German troops were at La Prairie, under General 
Riedesel. Gordon's brigade was encamped on the road 
from St. Johns to La Prairie. The twenty-second regi- 
ment was on the road from St. Johns to Chamblee. A 
train of artillery, consisting of 8 twenty-four, 12 eighteen, 
18 twelve pounders and guns of other calibre, had been 
sent forward to Isle aux Noix, to be mounted on the in- 
trenchments there. 

Arnold posted his guard-boats a mile below Windmill 
Point, and effectually blockaded the lake by mooring his 
vessels in a line across it. He also sent Lieutenant 
Whitcomb down the west side of the Sorel river, and 
Ensign McCoy down the east side, with a squad of three 
men each, to obtain intelligence of the enemy. 

On the 6th he was joined at Windmill Point by the 
row-galley Lee, commanded by Captain Davis, carrying 
1 twelve, 1 nine, and 4 four pounders and eighty-six 
men ; and the gondola Jersey, Captain Grimes, carrying 
1 twelve and 2 six pounders and forty-five men. On 
the same day the boats were ordered on shore to cut 
fascines to fix on the bows and sides of the gondolas, to 
prevent the enemy from boarding them and to keep off 
small shot. A boat's crew of the sloop Enterprise went 
on shore without a covering party. They had been out 
upon the same duty the two preceding days with cover- 
ing parties and returned unmolested, but upon this occa- 
sion they neglected that precaution, when they were 
attacked by a party of the Forty-seventh Regiment and 
savages, under Lieutenant Scott of the light infantry of 
the Twenty-fourth Regiment, who pursued them into the 
water. They all reached the boat, but before they could 
row off, three of them, Michael Sargent, Thomas Allen, 
and Moses Powell, were killed ; and six others, Robert 



146 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Owens, George Stanley, Archibald McDonald, James 
Quarel, John Shoemaker, and Jonathan Stody, were 
wounded. A heavy cannonade was opened from the 
fleet upon the woods, which was heard at Crown Point 
and reported at Ticonderoga immediately by Colonel 
Hartley as an action between the hostile fleets. Gates 
in turn spread the alarm by sending the information to 
Schuyler. He also issued an order to the troops at mid- 
night, expressing the greatest confidence in their firm- 
ness and fidelity; reminding them that the fleet was 
only their advance guard ; that if it was defeated the 
defence of the United States and of American freedom 
would fall upon them, and hoping that every officer and 
soldier under his command would prepare to the utmost 
of their ability to repel the attack of the enemy. It 
was some days before they were relieved of their sus- 
pense and the cause of the firing explained. 

When the alarm reached General Schuyler, he applied 
to the counties of Dutchess and Ulster in New York, and 
the neighboring counties of New England, to order their 
militia up. About the same time he received through 
Colonel Dayton, who was at Fort Schuyler, a report that 
a large body of the enemy, composed chiefly of Indians, 
would shortly arrive at Oswego, and that another body 
was on the march for the Mohawk. There was also some 
apprehension that they might come in by Fort George and 
attempt to cut off the communication with Ticonderoga. 
This invading force, as was gathered from the statements 
of prisoners, was composed of nearly eight hundred In- 
dians, Maclean's* Royal Highland emigrants, and some 
Canadians, New York royalists, known as the Royal 

•Colonel Maclean had become dissatisfied because he had not received the 
advancement he expected, and had returned to London in July. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 147 

Greens, and Scotch volunteers under Sir John Johnson, 
who cherished the most bitter resentment against the pa- 
triots, who had driven him from his patrimonial estate in 
the country of the Mohawk. This gentleman, apprehen- 
sive of arrest, left his home (Johnson Hall, near Johns- 
town) in June, 1776, with a company of loyalists and 
Mohawk Indians, and after nineteen days' journey through 
the pathless wilderness lying between the head waters of 
the Hudson and the St. Lawrence, reached Montreal, 
where he was cordially received by Sir Guy Carleton, 
who gave him a commission to raise two battalions of five 
hundred men each. 

Schuyler, therefore, amidst these gathering alarms 
from different quarters, which continued to harass him 
throughout the fall (for it was not known to him that 
the British had abandoned all designs upon the Mohawk 
country before the first of August), made a further ap- 
peal for militia to the committee of Albany county. The 
appeal was promptly responded to, and the militia began 
to arrive at Albany almost immediately. 

Gates desired all the available militia to be sent to 
Fort George and Skenesborough, but Schuyler deemed it 
advisable to hold them at Albany until further informa- 
tion should enable him to determine whether they would 
be most needed to the westward or at Ticonderoga. It 
was deemed prudent, also, by Schuyler, ultimately to 
send parts of Wynkoop's, Van Schaick's, Van Dyke's, 
and Mott's regiments into the tory districts on the Mo- 
hawk, and to keep Nicholson's and Elmore's Continental 
regiments there also. When the cause of the false alarm 
from Ticonderoga was communicated to Schuyler, he 
countermanded his order for the militia, and sent those 
from Albany home. 



148 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

On the second night after the false alarm created by 
the firing of the fleet upon the savages, mysterious move- 
ments were discovered on shore opposite Windmill Point, 
which gave rise to the belief that the enemy were secretly 
erecting batteries on both sides of the lake, with the de- 
sign of attacking the fleet. As the lake was only a mile 
and a quarter wide at that point, it was deemed prudent 
by Arnold to weigh anchor and ascend to a place of 
greater security. He accordingly got all his vessels 
under sail before daybreak and anchored the fleet at Isle 
la Motte, eight miles further up the lake, where it is 
two miles in width, at two o'clock on the afternoon of 
the 8th. Four guard-boats were kept constantly out, 
and another went the rounds every two hours of the 
night, to prevent surprise. 

About this time sickness began to appear among the 
men on board the fleet, and to increase rapidly. It be- 
came necessary to send thirty-seven of their number 
back to the general hospital. Like their comrades at 
Ticonderoga, the men were greatly in want of suitable 
clothing to protect them from the increasing severity of 
the weather, and they were also scant of rum, which, in 
the absence of clothing, was resorted to to keep out the 
wet and cold. 

They were supplied with provisions for six or eight 
days only, which was not sufficient for their safety, for 
at that stormy season of the year it often took that 
length of time to communicate between the two ends of 
the lake, and they had no base of supplies nearer than 
Ticonderoga. 

On the 9th, the fleet was further strengthened by the 
arrival at Isle la Motte of the gondola Philadelphia, 
Captain Rice, carrying 1 twelve and 2 six pounders and 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 149 

forty-five men, with Colonel Wigglesworth* on board, who 
had been appointed third officer of the fleet. 

On the 19th of September, at noon, Arnold, having 
cruised throughout the length and breadth of the lake 
without encountering the slightest resistance from the 
enemy's vessels, weighed anchor with the whole fleet and 
arrived the same evening at Bay St. Amand, two leagues 
to the northward of Cumberland Head, on the west shore 
of the lake. They were pursued up the shore by two or 
three hundred British Canadians and savages, with whom 
shots were exchanged, with loss on both sides. Those sub- 
tle savages were provided with a number of white-birch 
canoes, which they kept concealed in the bushes during 
the day, and in the night prowled about the water in 
them undiscovered, with the purpose of intercepting the 
dispatch or supply boats, or otherwise harassing the fleet. 

The fleet was overtaken at Bay St. Amand, on the 
20th, by an exceedingly heavy equinoctial gale, which it 
managed to ride without loss or serious damage. Arnold 
sent boats from here to make soundings around Valcour 
Island, with the intention of taking permanent position 
there and awaiting the approach of the enemy's fleet. 
He was growing very impatient at the delay of the row- 
galleys (which were being constructed at Skenesborough, 
nearly after the model of those built in Philadelphia), 



* Edward Wigglesworth was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, January 3d, 
1742. He was appointed a captain of matrosses by the Massachusetts Assembly, 
June 29th, 1776. He was subsequently appointed colonel of one of the Massa- 
chusetts regiments of militia intended for the reinforcement of the army at 
Ticonderoga. After his arrival at that place with his regiment, General Gates 
ai^pointed him third officer of the fleet. On the 6th of November, 1776, he was 
appointed colonel of a regiment of regular troops in the new Continental estab- 
lishment, which commission he resigned March 10th, 1779. He was appointed 
Collector of Newburyport, Massachusetts, by Washington, at which place he died 
December 8th, 1826. 



150 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

which he deemed of great importance to the strength of 
the fleet. Availing himself of the first fair wind, he 
sailed up to Valcour Island on the 23d, where he moored 
his A^essels in a line across the narrow pass between the 
island and the western shore of the lake. This pass was 
deep enough for the purposes of navigation, and half a 
mile wide. From here he sent a German and a New 
Englander as spies into Canada, with their instructions 
and credentials sewed up between the soles of their 
shoes. He also stationed two men on Isle la Motte to 
watch the movements of the enemy. The schooners Re- 
venge and Liberty were constantly cruising above and 
below Valcour Island, and half the men on each vessel 
were kept constantly on deck with matches lighted to 
guard against surprise. Lieutenant Whitcomb was also 
kept upon scout duty down the lake. 

This daring officer had been continually employed upon 
this service since his assassination of General Gordon, 
though the policy of retaining him was much criticized in 
the army, and upon one occasion had brought into Ticon- 
deroga, as prisoner, a quartermaster of a British regi- 
ment. 

On the oOth of September, Arnold was joined at Val- 
cour Island, to his great relief, by the row-galley Trum- 
bull, Captain Warner, carrying 1 eighteen, 1 twelve, 2 
nine, and 4 six pounders, and on the afternoon of the 
6th of October, the fleet was completed by the arrival of 
General Waterbury, with the row-galleys Congress, car- 
rying 2 eight, 2 twelve, and 4 six pounders, and Wash- 
ington, Captain Thatcher, carrying 1 eighteen, 1 twelve, 
2 nine, and 4 four pounders. General Arnold at once 
shifted his quarters from the Royal Savage to the Con- 
gress. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 151 

The completion of these last vessels had been greatly 
delayed by the prostration of the ship-carpenters at 
Skenesborough, with chills and fever and other maladies. 
By the last of August not one in five was able to work. 
When the galleys were finished many of the carpenters 
were sent home, and by the last of September they were 
all so exhausted by disease that no more work could be 
expected from them. 

General Waterbury took command of the Washington 
and Colonel Wigglesworth of the Trumbull. The whole 
fleet thus completed consisted of sixteen sail, carrying 
ninety-four guns, and about eight hundred officers and 
men. By directions of General Gates, it was divided 
into three divisions, with General Arnold in the centre, 
General Waterbury on the right, and Colonel Wiggles- 
worth on the left. "This disposition," wrote General 
Gates, " will teach the captains of the vessels to know 
their commanding officers, and prevent any confusion or 
dispute about command in case an unlucky shot, or other 
accident, should take off the general." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Scarcity of Clothing in the Array — Anxiety occasioned by Expiring Enlist- 
ments — De Haas,' Maxwell's, and part of Wind's Eegiments Consent to Re- 
main — Movements of the British Army — Arrival of a Second Detachment 
of Hessian and Brunswick Troops — The British Advance up the Lake — 
General William Phillips — News of the Naval Battle received at Ticon- 
deroga — Arrival of Arnold with the Remains of the Fleet at Ticonderoga. 

The weather was becoming cold and the army at Ti- 
conderoga was still greatly in need of all kinds of cloth- 
ing, but chiefly of shoes and stockings, none of which 
were to be had in that country. All they had received 
since they left Canada were one thousand and eight pairs 
of shoes, one hundred and seventy-seven pairs of moc- 
casins, and four hundred and fifty-four shirts, to be dis- 
tributed among four thousand men fit for duty. Although 
a large share of these fell to the Pennsylvania brigade, 
many of them were still without either, and had been 
without them since they lost them at Quebec or in the 
swamps before the battle of Three Rivers. "Unless 'a 
very speedy supply is sent," wrote General Schuyler to 
Congress, "the most fatal consequences will ensue." He 
urged Congress as a last resort to procure a supply of 
yarn socks in Pennsylvania, and piece them out with 
Indian stockings. Later, Governor Trumbull sent them 
two loads of clothing, and the continued reports of their 
distressing condition led Congress to direct Mease and 
Caldwell to send them all they had in the general store at 

(152) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 153 

Philadelphia, consisting of fourteen hundred and eighty- 
seven pairs of men's shoes, nine hundred and sixty pairs 
of milled yarn hose, twenty-three hundred and eighty 
white linen shirts, and fifteen hundred Russia linen shirts. 
Colonel De Haas, writing from Ticonderoga, speaks of 
the condition of his men as follows: — ''The arms are in 
tolerable order, but of different calibre. The accoutre- 
ments bad, many bayonets wanting. The men almost 
naked, and have been so two-thirds of the campaign, 
their clothing, when they marched from Philadelphia, 
being very scanty, and not a second shirt to their backs. 
The pitiful supplies of sundry articles which they re- 
ceived since, were bad of the kind, and at most exorbi- 
tant prices. On our arrival at the Isle aux Noix, after 
the retreat from Quebec, the regiment mustered upwards 
of five hundred rank and file fit for duty. By com- 
paring the above return with the then state of the regi- 
ment, it will appear that they have sufiered from the 
excessive fatigue they have gone through, the want of 
proper clothing to cover, and the want of blankets and 
tents to shelter them from the weather. To this day 
we have not tents suflicient for two-thirds of the men, 
and those we have were old when we received them. A 
regimental commissary and paymaster are unknown to us. 
(The latter I have been myself.) The quartermaster 
has never been enabled by the public to supply the regi- 
ment in a proper manner. After the hardships of a 
winter campaign in Canada, with those they have since 
experienced, there is not the least reason to think that 
any of the men will re-enlist at this place. The merit 
of those officers who can afford and choose to continue 
in the service on the present inadequate terms will be 
best determined after the expected attack." 



154 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Congress had sent to General Schuyler |300,000, half 
of which he immediately sent to Canada. In June they 
sent him $21,752.50 in silver and $187,000 in paper 
money. $100,000 more was taken up by General Gates. 
In August they sent him the still further sum of $513,- 
000, which was much needed to pay for the mileage and 
billeting of the militia. But these supplies of money 
enabled him only partially to meet the wants of the 
army, which were daily increasing, and of which he was 
so constantly and painfully reminded and which he la- 
bored so ftiithfully and patriotically to relieve. By the 
middle of August, with the most rigid economy, his 
money-chests contained less than $100,000. 

Though still suffering from the need of many things, 
the Northern Army had become at length the first object 
of the care and solicitude of Congress and the Colonies, 
who had been tardily awakened by the oft-told tales of 
their sufferings to a sense of the neglect with which this 
army had been treated. Even now much of the interest 
they manifested was owing, no doubt, to the fact that it 
was no longer an army of conquest sent to acquire terri- 
tory of which they knew comparatively little, with whose 
people they had little or no intercourse, and with whom 
they were not allied by the ties of either language or 
religion ; but that the army then stood upon their own 
frontier, and formed their only barrier against the perils 
of an invasion, which, if successful, would sever the col- 
onies in twain. Even the pressing wants of Washing- 
ton's army, then about to begin its disastrous retreat 
across the Jerseys, were postponed in the anxiety and 
interest which had been awakened for the Northern 
Army. 

In the midst of the manifold embarrassments with 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 155 

which General Schuyler had to contend in his efforts to 
rehabilitate and reinforce the Northern Army, a new 
.cause for anxiety (the fruit of short enlistments) now 
presented itself. The time of service of De Haas,' Max- 
well's, and Wind's regiments was rapidly running out. 
DeHaas' had been enlisted until October 27th. Schuy- 
ler earnestly entreated Congress to take some measures 
to retain these troops ; he also called Washington's atten- 
tion to this new source of peril to the cause, and urged 
him to request Congress to offer these regiments some 
inducements to remain until all danger was over. "If 
they leave Ticonderoga," he wrote, "it will not only 
weaken, but greatly dispirit our troops." Washington 
at once laid the matter before Congress, but replied to 
Schuyler that it was too late for Congress to act, or for 
anything to be done unless the officers would exert them- 
selves in prevailing on the men to remain. "If the offi- 
cers are spirited and well inclined," he added, "they may 
lead their men as they please." To these, therefore, 
Schuyler resorted. "For God's sake," he w^rote to Gates, 
"try to keep the Pennsylvania and New Jersey regi- 
ments in service until every possibility of the enemy's 
crossing the lake this campaign disappears. They may, 
as you imagine, soon make the attempt. I rather wish 
they would than delay it five or six weeks longer, as I 
fear too many of our troops will leave you by that time." 
The reliance of Washington upon the officers as a last 
resort was not misplaced. De Haas' and Maxwell's regi- 
ments cheerfully consented to remain as long as an enemy 
was in their front. Colonel Wind and the greater part of 
his officers and men refused, and left the camp on the 
6th of November, followed by the reproof of the General 
and their companions in arms. Drums were beat by 



156 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

order of General Gates "in derision of the few who had 
the baseness to quit their post in this time of danger.'' 
De Haas,' Maxwell's, and such of the First New Jersey^ 
under Major William De Hart, "as had an honest zeal 
for the service of their country" and remained, were 
thanked in a general order by the General for their 
readiness in complying with his request to remain for 
the defense and security of the post after their term of 
service had expired. 

Meanwhile the enemy were industriously engaged in 
making preparations to cross the lake, and Sir William 
HoAve, at New York, was anxiously waiting to hear from 
them before attempting to pass the forts in the High- 
lands of the Hudson. They had repaired the road from 
Isle aux Noix to Chamblee. On the 24 th of June, Carle- 
ton had held a conference in the Church of the Jesuits, 
at Montreal, with the Caughnawaga and St. Francis In- 
dians, which was attended by all his general officers and 
three hundred savages, and at which an alliance was 
formed with the Indians for one vear. These same Indi- 
ans came to Montreal no longer ago than the 7th of 
June, and, after the usual speeches and ceremonies, de- 
livered up the hatchet which Carleton had given them in 
the preceding year, to General Arnold, and promised to 
be neutral in the approaching conflict. Carleton compel- 
led the Canadians who had accepted commissions from 
Congress to go through the farcical ceremony of burning 
them in public, and confiscated the estates of all those 
who had followed the American army. The inhabitants 
who had sympathized with the cause of the Americans 
were compelled by the priests to do penance in public. 

A vessel had arrived at Quebec, on the 29th of July, 
having on board a regiment of Hesse Hanau Artillery, 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 157 

numbering three hundred and fifty men, and on the 17th 
of September the second division of Brunswick troops 
arrived there, in five transports, consisting of the regi- 
ment of Infimtry Von Rhetz, under command of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Ehrenkrook; and a regiment of Brunswick 
riflemen, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Barner. 
Nineteen men died during the voyage. 

Of the four thousand German troops who thus came to 
Canada under General Riedesel in 1776, only two thou- 
sand eight hundred returned. 

The British army in Canada with these reinforcements 
consisted of from twelve thousand to thirteen thousand 
men. 

On the 10th of September they were put in motion 
for the advance up the lake, but their progress was very 
slow. On that day Lieutenant-Colonel Carleton, a cousin 
of the General, with four hundred Indians, in their own 
canoes, moved up the Sorel river. On the following day 
seventy-six men out of each company of the German 
brigade embarked. They numbered thirteen hundred 
officers and men, and filled eighty-two boats. General 
Fraser with his van brigade, composed of grenadiers, 
light infantry, and the Twenty-fourth Regiment, advanced 
up the left bank of the Sorel and rested on the river 
Colte, five miles from the New York line. 

The grenadiers of this brigade were commanded by 
Major John Dyke Ackland, of the Twentieth Regiment, 
who was accompanied by his accomplished wife. Lady 
Harriet Ackland, whose adventurous journey into the 
American lines in the following year, to attend her 
husband, who had been wounded and taken prisoner at 
Saratoga, has become a familiar and romantic incident 
in American history. 



158 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

The First Brigade, under General Burgoyne, consisting 
of the Ninth, Twenty-first, Thirty-first, and Forty-seventh 
British Regiments, the Regiment Reidesel, and the Hanau 
Regiment of the German troops, moved up to Isle aux 
Noix. The Fifty-ninth Regiment was in the neighborhood 
of St. Theresa. General Phillips* with that portion of 
the corps of artillery that was not on board the fleet, the 
Twentieth and Sixty-second Regiments and part of the 
Twenty-ninth, were at St. Johns with the remainder of 
the German troops under Riedesel. The Thirty-fourth 
Regiment was near Chamblee. One hundred and thirty 
boats, each capable of carrying twenty men, were dis- 
tributed among these troops, and two covered boats were 
furnished each general for himself and staff. The sick 
and heavy baggage were sent back to Montreal, which 
was garrisoned by Maclean's Royal Highland Emigrants. 

It was not until the 14th of October, however, that 

* William Phillips entered the British army as a captain of artiUery in 
May, 1756. He served with credit in Germany ; was brevetted lieutenant-colonel 
in 1770, and was made colonel of his regiment May 25th, 1772. He was appointed 
to the command of the corps of artillery sent to Canada in 1776, and made major- 
general in June of that year. He took jiart in the campaign which followed, 
and in the exiiedition under Burgoyne in 1777. He commanded the left wing of 
the British array in the action of September 19th, 1777, and the centre in the 
action of October 7th, 1777. With General Riedesel he covered the retreat of 
the main body on that disastrous day for the British arms. He was taken pris- 
oner at the surrender of Burgoyne, and his portrait is conspicuous in the fore- 
ground of the painting of that event, in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washing- 
ton. He was exchanged in November, 1779. In March, 1781, he sailed from 
New York with two thousand troops for Portsmouth, Virginia, where he super- 
seded Benedict Arnold in the command of the British forces at that place, greatly 
to the relief of the British officers, and completed the fortifications of the town. 
From this point he marched through the country adjacent to the James river, 
destroying tobacco warehouses, vessels, military stores, and other valuable prop- 
erty. Having accomplished his mission of desolation, he started in ill-health 
for Petersburg, where he expected to form a junction with Lord Cornwallis. He 
died four days after his arrival at that place, on the 13th of May, 1781. He was 
haughty and irritable, and professed great contempt for the Americans and their 
cause, but was deeply regretted by his companions in arms as a meritorious and 
well-tried soldier. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 159 

Generals Burgoyne and Fraser embarked their respect- 
ive corps in bateaux upon the open waters of the lake 
from Point au Fer. The Twentieth and Sixty-second 
Regiments were left at Isle aux Noix to guard the sup- 
pHes there. 

It may be well to remark here that these two regi- 
ments, though assigned in this campaign to the compara- 
tively inglorious duty of guarding the supplies in the rear, 
bore, together with the Twenty-first, the brunt of Arnold's 
furious assault upon the centre of the British army at the 
battle of Freeman's Farm (September 19th, 1777), upon 
which occasion more than half their number were slain. 

All the German troops, except the Hanau Artillery, 
also remained in Canada as a reserve. The remainder of 
the army followed the fleet up the lake. 

On Saturday, the 12th of October, an express arrived 
at Ticonderoga from Crown Point with information that 
heavy cannonading had been heard on the preceding day 
down the lake, which was supposed to be between the 
British and American fleets. All that day and night the 
American army anxiously awaited further tidings from 
below. The next morning the news was confirmed by 
the booming of the signal-gun at Crown Point. 

Only two days before, the troops at Ticonderoga had 
been admonished in general orders that "the long still- 
ness and seeming supineness of the enemy strongly in- 
dicated that they were meditating some stroke of import- 
ance." "It behooves, therefore, every officer and soldier 
of this army," the order continued, "to be exceedingly 
vigilant and alert, particularly when upon duty." It was 
with sensations of relief and readiness that the troops 
welcomed the news that their long state of suspense was 
over. 



160 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

The report of the signal-gun at Crown Point was soon 
followed by the arrival of an express boat with intelli- 
gence that a severe engagement had been fought between 
the two fleets on Friday, the 11th, at Valcour Island, in 
which the British had been victorious. 

This discouraging news was shortly after followed by 
incessant reports of heavy cannonading, which lasted 
from eleven o'clock until three. The action had evi- 
dently been renewed nearer at hand. 

In the course of that same Sunday night, a scout of 
sixty men, under Captain Thomas Church, of Wayne's 
regiment, returned to Ticonderoga, bringing with them 
the heavy baggage from Crown Point, one hundred and 
forty men of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment who 
were sick with chiUs and fever, and news of the final 
disaster to the American fleet. At four o'clock the next 
morning. General Arnold, Lieutenant-Colonel Hartley, 
with the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, and what was 
left of the fleet, arrived at Ticonderoga. Arnold was 
exceedingly Aveak and unwell, having been without sleep 
or nourishment for nearly three days. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Construction of the British Fleet — It Sets Sail upon Lake Champlain — The 
Naval Battle of October 11th — Skillful Ketreat of the Americans — Viscount 
Exmouth — Escape of part of the American Fleet — The Naval Battle of 
October 13th — Surrender of the Washington — Arnold Runs his Vessels 
Ashore and Burns them — Ambushing the Bridle Path to Crown Point — 
Escape of Arnold and his Men to Ticonderoga — The Loss on both sides — 
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Hartley — Release of American Prisoners — 
Carleton's motive for releasing them. 

We left Arnold with his fleet moored between Valcour 
Island and the western shore of the lake, awaiting the 
approach of the enemy. He had arrested, while there, a 
number of disaffected persons residing along the shores 
of the lake, whom he suspected of giving information 
and comfort to the enemy, and sent them under guard 
to Ticonderoga. 

The British had been constantly engaged ever since 
the beginning of July in constructing and fitting out a 
fleet to control Lake Champlain and carry their army 
over the lake, during which time, wrote Captain Douglas 
of the Isis, they had performed "prodigies of labor almost 
exceeding belief." Ship-wrights had been constantly 
busy at Montreal, Chamblee, and St. Johns in construct- 
ing vessels and bateaux. All soldiers who were carpen- 
ters had been sent to Chamblee, Sorel, and St. Johns to 
work on the vessels, and were allowed a shilling extra 
per diem while so engaged. On the 7th of July the 
English frigate Jailer arrived at Quebec with ten gun- 
boats, so constructed that they could be taken apart and 

(161) 



162 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

transported overland to the lakes. Thirty long boats, a 
number of flat-bottomed craft, a gondola weighing about 
thirty tons, and over four hundred bateaux were trans- 
ported overland or dragged up the rapids of St. Therese 
and St. Johns. 

Sir Guy Carleton had expected to be able to embark 
upon the lake by the middle of September, but receiving 
information of the formidable armament of the Ameri- 
cans already there, he determined to make additional 
preparation before attempting the expedition; accord- 
ingly, a three-masted ship called the Inflexible, and two 
schooners, the Maria and Carleton, were taken to pieces, 
carried up to St. Johns, and reconstructed there. An 
attempt had been made to drag these vessels around the 
rapids of Chamblee on rollers, but the attempt failed, 
and they were obliged to take them apart after they had 
been landed. These additional preparations delayed the 
movement of the British until October. The keel of 
the Inflexible was laid September 6th, three days after 
Arnold had anchored his fleet at Windmill Point. She 
was completed in twenty-eight days thereafter. It was 
necessary, however, to run her into deeper water below 
the Isle aux Noix before she could receive her armament 
of 18 twelve-pounders. All preparations being thus com- 
pleted, the fleet set sail on the 4th of October, consist- 
ing of the ship Inflexible, Lieutenant Schank ; schooner 
Maria, Lieutenant Starke, 14 brass six-pounders; schooner 
Carleton, Lieutenant Dacres, 12 brass six-pounders ; the 
Radeau Thunderer (a floating battery with two masts). 
Lieutenant Scott, carrying 6 twenty-four and 6 twelve- 
pounders, and 2 howitzers ; the gondola Loyal Convert, 
Lieutenant Longcroft, 7 nine-pounders. This gondola 
had been taken by the British after the siege of Que- 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 163 

bee was raised. Twenty gunboats (ten of which had 
arrived from England), each carrying a brass field-piece, 
varying in calibre from 9 to 24 pounders, manned by 
men from the corps of Royal and Hanau artillery. Some 
of them also carried howitzers. In addition to these, 
there were four long boats, as armed tenders, carrying 
one field-piece each, mounted upon a gun-carriage, and 
also manned by the Royal Artillerists. Each of the ves- 
sels, Inflexible, Carleton, Maria, and Thunderer, had on 
board a company of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, detailed 
for service as marines. Half a company from the same 
regiment was also assigned to the Loyal Convert. 

The British fleet thus constituted comprised twenty- 
nine sail, carrying eighty-nine guns, mostly of large cali- 
bre, and manned by six hundred and seventy experienced 
seamen detached from the British transports in the St. 
Lawrence, two hundred and twenty-three of whom had 
volunteered for the service. In addition to this there 
were twenty-four long boats carrying provisions. The 
whole under command of Captain Thomas Pringle of the 
armed ship Lord Howe, who had his quarters on board 
the schooner Maria. According to a British historian, 
"no equipment of the kind was ever better appointed 
or more amply furnished with every kind of provision 
necessary for the intended service." 

Proceeding cautiously, the British fleet came to anchor 
below Isle la Motte, where it remained until the 9th, and 
Carleton sent out reconnoitering parties to discover the 
whereabouts of the American fleet. Having received a 
report from one of these parties that they could discover 
no traces of the American fleet, they proceeded further 
and still with great caution up the lake. On the 10th, 
another reconnoitering boat reported to Carleton that the 



164 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

American fleet had been seen near Grand Island. He 
accordingly set sail and in the evening again cast anchor 
between Long and Grand Islands, within fifteen miles of 
the anchorage of the American fleet. 

Early on the morning of Friday, the 11th of October, 
he again set sail in pursuit of the Americans, and a gun 
from the American alarm-boat soon announced to them 
that the British fleet was in sight. Shortly thereafter, 
under full sail, and before a fair wind from the north- 
west, the British fleet swept round Cumberland Head (a 
promontory projecting out beyond Valcour Island, four 
miles to the north). They passed the southern end of 
Valcour Island before they discovered Arnold's fleet, for 
it was so concealed by the Island that it could not be 
seen by vessels ascending the lake. The British fleet 
was then in mid-channel nearly two miles to the south- 
east of Valcour Island — the lake at this point being 
nearly thirteen miles wide. Arnold, upon discovering 
the first of the enemy's fleet, immediately ordered the 
Royal Savage, and the galleys Congress, Washington, 
and Trumbull, out into the stream to commence the 
attack, but when he had proceeded far enough to obtain 
a view of the lake, and discovered the force of the 
enemy to be nearly double his own, he made signal from 
the Congress to the other vessels to regain the line be- 
hind the island. To do this it was necessary to beat up 
against the wind. The enemy tried, by hauling close to 
the wind, to follow them, but they were unable to do so 
with their large vessels. The flagship Inflexible, the 
schooner Maria, and the Thunderer came to anchor there- 
fore out in the lake. The morning was consumed in 
getting the vessels in position. At eleven o'clock the 
schooner Carleton opened a heavy fire upon the Royal 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 165 

Savage and the three galleys, which was returned with 
spirit. The Royal Savage, in endeavoring to beat u]s 
against the wind in the narrow channel, was stranded 
on the island. One of her masts was injured, and her 
rigging shot away. Her crew escaped and the enemy 
boarded her and burned her that night. Arnold had not 
moA^ed his effects from the Royal Savage, and all his 
papers and most of his clothing were destroyed on board 
of her. Half an hour later the Carleton, with the twenty 
gunboats, succeeded in forming a line three hundred and 
fifty yards distant from Arnold's line to the southward, 
and by noon the action began in earnest. A body of 
Indians and Canadians under Captain Fraser had ad- 
vanced up the west shore of the lake. Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Carleton with his body of four hundred Indians also 
came up the lake in their canoes and landed on Valcour 
Island. These bodies of Indians harassed the flanks of 
the Americans with their rifles, and added additional 
horror to the scene by their unearthly whoops and yells. 
The galleys were in the hottest of the fight. The Ameri- 
cans fought with great courage and desperation. The 
British movements were directed by Captain Thomas 
Pringle from on board the Maria, under the supervision 
of Sir Guy Carleton, who was also on board the Maria. 
The Congress and Washington suffered greatly. The 
latter lost her first lieutenant and three others killed, 
her captain, master, and several others wounded. She 
was hulled a number of times, her sails were torn to tat- 
ters, and she received a shot through her mainmast. 
The Congress was hulled twelve times, and received 
shots between wind and water. Her mainmast was struck 
in two places, and her yard in one. Arnold fought with 
his characteristic bravery — pointing many of the guns 



166 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

on the Congress with his own hands. The gondola New 
York lost all her officers except the captain. The Phila- 
delphia was hulled in so many places that she sunk about 
an hour after the engagement was over. The whole num- 
ber of Americans killed and wounded amounted to about 
sixty. Many of the enemy's guns which did this dis- 
astrous work were twenty-four pounders. The enemy 
also embarked a number of men in bateaux to board the 
vessels, if possible, and to intercept the Americans in 
case they should attempt to escape by land. The enemy 
also suffered greatly. One of the British gunboats hav- 
ing on board the Hesse Hanau Artillery, under command 
of Lieutenant Fay, was sunk, and two of the crew 
drowned. The remainder were saved. The Carleton 
suffered severely. The British continued to pour in a 
very heavy fire of round and grape shot until five o'clock, 
when, finding the contest unequal without the use of their 
large vessels, they fell back to the distance of six or 
seven hundred yards, where they came to anchor, with 
the design of cutting off the American retreat and wait- 
ing for a more favorable wind which would enable them 
to bring their large vessels into action. At this distance 
the fire was continued until darkness compelled both 
combatants to desist. 

The wind abated after sunset but still blew gently 
from the north-west. The ammunition of the Americans 
was about three-fourths exhausted. They had more than 
held their own against heavy odds, but this could not be 
continued in their crippled condition against the heavy 
reserve the British had in their large vessels. Arnold 
held a council of war on board the Congress, and being 
satisfied that further resistance to the overwhelmingly 
superior force of the enemy was hopeless, a retreat was 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 167 

determined upon. The night was dark and foggy. Lan- 
terns were placed below the sterns of the vessels so 
screened as to make them invisible, except to those di- 
rectly in the wake. At seven o'clock Colonel Wiggles- 
worth, in the Trumbull, took the lead, the other vessels 
followed at the distance of two hundred to three hundred 
yards apart, and the Congress and Washington brought 
up the rear. The whole fleet thus sailed noiselessly up 
the lake through the lines of the enemy, and made their 
escape without being discovered. 

About eight o'clock the next morning the fog lifted, 
and the enemy, amazed and chagrined to find the Ameri- 
can fleet gone, made hasty preparations to follow them. 
Carleton, in the surprise and confusion, having neglected 
to give orders for the advance of the army. Arnold and 
Waterbury, with the Congress and Washington and two 
gondolas, were then at Schuyler's Island, about ten miles 
up the lake, where they were obliged to stop to repair 
leaks and mend their sails. The remainder of the fleet 
had proceeded up the lake. The two gondolas were 
abandoned and sunk at Schuyler's Island, being past 
remedy, and at two o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday, 
the 12th, the Congress and Washington weighed anchor 
and endeavored to make way up the lake against a fresh 
breeze from the south-west. 

The Trumbull and smaller boats were then five or six 
miles ahead, making fair progress under the western shore, 
and Arnold signaled them to ply their oars and make 
their way to Crown Point as rapidly as possible. The 
schooner Liberty had been sent back from Valcour Island 
to Crown Point for provisions on the 10th of October, 
and was not in the action. 

Edward Pellew, afterwards Viscount Exmouth, then 



168 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

a young man under twenty, was an officer on board the 
British fleet in this engagement, and distinguished him- 
self by his gallantry. 

In the evening the wind moderated, and the American 
vessels made such progress that by six o'clock on the 
morning of Sunday, the 13th, the last of them was off 
Willsborough, twenty-eight miles below Crown Point. 
The fog was then so dense that it was impossible to see 
the length of a vessel, but when it cleared off, an hour 
or two later, the enemy's squadron was discovered a little 
above Schuyler's Island. A fresh breeze had sprung up 
from the north-west which brought the enemy up to 
within five miles of the Americans before they felt its 
influence. Before eleven o'clock the Maria, having the 
Carleton and Inflexible a short distance astern, was with- 
in range of the nine and twelve pounders in the stern of 
the Congress and Washington, from which a fire was 
opened upon them. The Thunderer, Loyal Convert, and 
the other vessels of the British fleet had been unable to 
keep up with the Maria, Carleton, and Inflexible, and 
therefore took no part in this second engagement. B}^ 
the time the American vessels had reached Split Rock, 
the enemy were alongside of them. The remainder of 
the American fleet, with the exception of the galley Lee. 
which was run aground and abandoned by her crew, on 
the loth, were then nearing Crown Point. Terrific 
broadsides of round and grape shot were poured into 
the Congress, Washington, and the four galleys from the 
British vessels. The Washington gaUey was in such a 
shattered condition, and had lost so many of her men in 
killed and wounded, that she was obliged to strike her 
flag after receiving several broadsides. General Water- 
bury and the crew were taken prisoners. This vessel 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 169 

was subsequently used by the British as a transport for 
supplies between Isle aux Noix and Crown Point. The 
three British vessels then concentrated their fire upon 
the Congress, two under her stern and one on her broad- 
side. Within musket-shot they continued to pour into 
her an incessant fire of round and grape shot, shattering 
her sails, rigging, and hull. The first lieutenant and 
three of her crew were killed. Arnold returned their 
fire briskly, but all further resistance was hopeless. De- 
siring to prevent further sacrifice of life he determined 
to run his vessels ashore, and keep them, if possible, out 
of the enemy's hands. He ordered the four gondolas to 
precede him, and followed them himself in the Congress. 
It was then nearly three o'clock. They succeeded in 
reaching Button Mould Bay, on the east side of the lake 
a short distance above the mouth of Otter Creek. Here 
they set fire to their vessels with their flags flying at the 
mast-head. Arnold was the last man to land. The 
crews were drawn up on the shore above the burning 
vessels to protect their flags until they should be con- 
sumed. The enemy did not venture into the bay, but 
kept up a constant cannonade from a distance. They 
landed their Indians, however, to ambush the road and 
cut off Arnold's retreat. The British afterwards sent part 
of their garrison from Crown Point to raise the cannon 
and war material from these sunken vessels. The crew 
of the Congress, when the first action commenced on 
the 11th, amounted to seventy-three men, there now re- 
mained but forty-six — all the rest having been killed 
or wounded. 

Having heroically preserved their colors and their 
ships from the hands of the enemy, in the midst of over- 
whelming disaster, Arnold, with his two hundred gallant 



170 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

men, set off by a bridle path through the woods for Crown 
Point, ten miles distant, and narrowly escaped the ene- 
my's Indians who ambushed the path two hours later. 
It was after dark when they arrived opposite Crown 
Point, at a place called Chimney Point, from the bare 
chimneys which stood there for many years after the 
French had burned the settlement on their retreat in 
1759, The Trumbull, Revenge, Liberty, Enterprise, and 
a gondola, comprising the sole remnant of the American 
fleet, were then at anchor there, where the lake is less 
than three-quarters of a mile wide. On these vessels 
they crossed to Crown Point. 

The whole loss of the Americans in these two actions 
was about eighty men, a very large proportion of whom 
were lost on board the Congress. The loss of the British 
was about half that number, eight of whom were killed 
and six wounded on board the Carleton. The rest were 
chiefly from among the artillerists in the gunboats, dur- 
ing the first day's engagement. General Carleton received 
a slight wound in the head from a splinter. The Ameri- 
can wounded were sent to Ticonderoga, and from there 
to the hospital at Fort George. 

It was utterly useless for this little band of disheart- 
ened men to attempt to make a stand at Crown Point, 
where Lieutenant-Colonel Hartley '=■' had thrown up a 

* Thomas Hartley was born at Reading, Pennsylvania, September 7th, 1748, 
from which place he removed to York, where he practiced law. He was a mem- 
ber from York county of the Provincial Conventions which met at Philadelphia, 
July 15th, 1774, and January 23d, 1775. He was commissioned Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment in the Continental Army, January 
9th, 1776, and commanded the regiment after Colonel Irvine was taken prisoner 
at the battle of Three Rivers. He commanded an expedition to the Valley of 
Wyoming in 1778 after the massacre, and received the unanimous thanks of the 
Supreme Executive Council for his brave and prudent conduct in conducting it 
to a successful issue. He resigned his commission and was a member of the 
Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1778, and one of the Council of Censors in 1783. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 171 

few earthworks, capable of covering from one thousand 
to fifteen hundred men, late in August, and had mounted 
on them six French cannon which he had found in the 
woods. They therefore set fire to all buildings and 
houses in and near the place, including the saw-mill 
which had furnished some boards for the fleet, and 
Arnold with his party, the Sixth Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, and what remained of the fleet, as we have seen, 
retreated to Ticonderoga. 

On the evening of the 14th, a number of the enemy's 
row-boats, commanded by Captain Craig of the Forty- 
seventh Regiment of Infantry (afterwards Sir James H. 
Craig, Governor of Canada, and the same man who, as 
such, thirty-two years later, set on foot an intrigue, with 
the sanction of the British GoA'"ernment, for the separa- 
tion of the Eastern States from the Union, and a return 
by them to their old allegiance to the Crown), arrived at 
the American advance boat under a flag of truce. They 
brought General Waterbury and the crew of the Wash- 
ington, a hundred and ten in number, who had been re- 
leased by General Carleton upon their parole. They 
were so warm in their praises of Carleton, for the kind- 
ness and generosity with which he had treated them, 
that it was thought prudent to prevent them from having 
intercourse with the garrison, and they were sent to 
Skenesborough the same night on their way to their 
homes. 

It was surmised, whether with justice to the motives 
of that humane officer (admittedly the ablest on the 



He was a delegate to the Convention of Pennsylvania which ratified the Consti- 
tution of the United States, December 12th, 1787, and a member of Congress 
from the organization of the Government in 1789 to the time of his death, -which 
occurred at York, Pennsylvania, December 21st, 1800. 



172 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

British side during the war) or not, it is difficult to say, 
that Carleton had lavished his kindness on these ragged 
American prisoners, and then set them free, with the in- 
tent that they should spread their good reports of him 
and the king's army among their suffering brethren, 
thereby acting as his unconscious emissaries in sowing 
the seeds of discontent with their cause among their 
comrades, and softening their animosities toward the 
crown. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Occupation of Crown Point by the British Army — An Attack on Ticonderoga 
expected — It is delayed by unfavorable winds — The Americans improve the 
time by preparing for it — New Post established on Mount Hope — Construc- 
tion of a Boom across the Lake — Cutting down the trees on the Crown Point 
Koad — Wet and stormy weather — Precautions against surprise — Construc- 
tion of a Floating Bridge between Ticonderoga and Mount Independence — 
Provisions for the Wounded — Scouting Parties — Gates calls for Ten to Fif- 
teen Thousand Militia — The Lower Country alive with the movements of 
armed Men — Arrival of New England Militia at Ticonderoga — Scarcity of 
Provisions — Washington's opinion of Militia — Promotion of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Irvine, Major Morris, Captain Jonathan Jones, and Captain Grier — 
Advance of General Fraser's Division to Putnam's Point under the Guns of 
the British Fleet — General Simon Fraser — An Attack hourly expected — 
Eichard Stockton and George Clymer — Their comments on the sufferings of 
the Troops, 

On the 14th of October, the British fleet anchored off 
Crown Point. Three vessels, including the schooner 
Maria (on board of which Sir Guy Carle ton had his 
quarters), and a number of flat-bottomed boats, remained 
there. The other vessels went back for stores, cannon, 
and to bring up the army. In a few days thereafter the 
British army occupied Crown Point, and Chimney Point 
opposite, where they were joined by a band of New York 
tories. From this time forward an attack upon Ticonde- 
roga was expected, first daily, and then hourly. It was 
likely to be a desperate struggle, but the Americans were 
hopeful of the result. In anticipation of it. Gates issued 
an address to the troops. "As the enemy's attack will 
most probably be rash and sudden," he wrote, "the Gen- 

(173) 



174 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

eral earnestly recommends to every commanding officer 
of a regiment, party, post, or detachment, to be deliber- 
ate and cool in suffering his men to fire, never allowing 
them to throw away their shot in a random, unsoldier- 
like manner. One close well-directed fire, at the distance 
of eight or ten rods, will do more towards defeating 
the enemy, than all the scattered, random shot, fired 
in a whole day. The commanding officers of artillery 
will give proper directions in this respect to all under 
their command. The good effects of a due observance 
of this order will, with the favor of Heaven, secure the 
victory." 

The troops were ready, and waited impatiently for the 
attack. Arnold sent his public and private papers with 
a considerable sum of hard and paper money to General 
Schuyler for safe keeping. Fourteen birch canoes loaded 
with Indians came up the lake to within five miles of 
Ticonderoga, but the wind blew hard fron the south, and 
no further tidings of the enemy were received. They 
would not come Avithout their fleet, and the fleet could 
not ascend this narrow stretch of the lake, until the wind 
should shift to a more favorable quarter. Upon the vari- 
ableness of the wind the probabilities of an attack for a 
time depended. The Americans availed themselves of 
the delay in preparing for it. Gun-carriages were con- 
structed and guns mounted. The lines and redoubts 
of the brigade of Massachusetts militia, under General 
Brickett, were in a very incomplete state. There were 
not sufficient entrenching tools to employ all the militia 
who were off duty upon them. So they were divided 
into three parties who relieved each other throughout the 
day. Arnold was assigned to the command of all the 
troops and redoubts on the flat ground north of the old 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 175 

fort, including the stone redoubt on the eastern point, 
and the vessels which guarded the boom. 

The Pennsylvania brigade in the French lines occupied 
the left of the position, and to guard against every possi- 
bility of its being turned, a post was established upon an 
eminence half a mile in their front, which was significantly 
called Mount Hope. It was expected that the weight of 
the assault would fall upon the French lines, and conse- 
quently the Americans had prepared to receive it there. 
It was not at all probable that Mount Independence 
would be attacked, as the open state of the country be- 
low it, and its great natural strength, made it almost im- 
jDregnable. Measures were taken to prevent the enemy 
from advancing higher up the lake than the American 
outposts. On the 24th of October, a boom of heavy logs 
chained together was thrown across the lake nearly 
opposite the Jersey redoubt. The two galleys were an- 
chored in the channel, and by a concerted fire from these, 
the Jersey redoubt, and the batteries on Mount Independ- 
ence, it was confidently expected that any attempt of 
the enemy to reach the rear of the American works by 
ascending the lake could be successfully repulsed. No 
alternative would thus be left them but to land on the 
west side of the lake below the American outposts, and 
assault the American position at the French lines, where 
they were prepared to receive it. To further embarrass 
the enemy a detachment of one hundred men from the 
Continental regiments of Brewer and Willard was sent 
out to cut down the trees across the Crown Point road. 
Officers and men on both sides of the lake were ordered 
to hold themselves in readiness to reinforce any point 
where their services should be most needed. The wea- 
ther continued so wet and stormy, that half a gill of rum 



176 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

was issued to every non-commissioned officer and soldier, 
morning and evening. Casks filled with water, and a 
supply of rum were kept constantly at the alarm posts, 
and every precaution was taken against surprise. Each 
man was kept constantly supplied with two days provi- 
sions ready cooked, and a quarter of a pound of buck- 
shot, which was all their limited supply could afford, and 
therefore all spears that could be spared from the vessels 
were distributed in the French lines and redoubts for 
use in a hand to hand encounter, in case the ammunition 
should give out. Every morning before day, the troops 
repaired to their alarm posts, where the Continental 
colors were advantageously displayed on the ramparts, 
nnd the cannon and spears kept in readiness for imme- 
diate action. General St. Clair's brigade was reinforced 
by the addition of Colonel Maxwell's Second New Jersey 
Regiment, which was detached from the second brigade 
on Mount Independence for that purpose. On October 
25th, a floating bridge was built across the lake between 
Ticonderoga and Mount Independence to facilitate the 
communication between those posts. It was at this crit- 
ical juncture that the supply of ammunition was received 
from Congress, six tons of powder, and a large quantity 
of lead and other ammunition. For some days prior 
thereto there were not two tons of powder in camp. 
''Carleton keeps very close at Crown Point, his navy at 
anchor on his flanks," wrote Gates to Schuyler on the 
24th. "I have scouts constantly down both sides of the 
lake. I apprehend by this time his force is all collected, 
and expect this stillness will be succeeded immediately 
by a grand attack. Heaven grant he may be defeated ! 
The army here are in good spirits and think only of vic- 
tory." The scouts from below reported the enemy to be 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 177 

in great force and in great activity, but as yet they had 
not interfered with the American communications on 
either side of the lake, though bands of their Indians 
came near enough to drive off a number of cattle. 

It was ordered that in case of action, Surgeons Ken- 
nedy, Barnet, Taylor, Thacher, Silsby, and Packer, with 
their assistants, were to be in attendance at the old fort. 
Surgeons Johnston, Holmes, Alison, Harvey, and Stewart, 
with their assistants and all their instruments were to at- 
tend near Colonel Wayne's marquee, in the French lines. 
Guards were also placed over the bateaux which were 
kept constantly lying in the cove below the carpenter 
shop to carry the wounded, as soon as their wounds could 
be dressed, to the general hospital on Mount Independ- 
ence, which was under the charge of Dr. Jonathan Potts 
and all the surgeons and surgeon's-mates on Mount In- 
dependence. 

No less than eleven scouting parties were thrown out 
through the wilderness outlying between Ticonderoga 
and Fort Stanwix on the Mohawk, and also to the head- 
waters of the Hudson, to obtain early information of any 
movements the enemy might make in that direction. 

The wind continued to blow steadily from the south 
for a fortnight, during which time General Brickett's Mas- 
sachusetts brigade succeeded in covering themselves, in 
repairing the five old French redoubts in the low lands, 
and mounting four or five guns upon each of them. 

Generals Gates, Arnold, and St. Clair accompanied 
their reports of the destruction of the fleet with an 
urgent call for ten thousand to fifteen thousand militia. 
When General Schuyler received their communications, 
he, sharing the common belief that an attack by the vic- 
torious British army upon the garrison of Ticonderoga 



178 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

was imminent, wrote for aid to the New York Committee 
which was then in session at Fishkill, and the committee 
responded by calling out all the militia from Tryon, Char- 
lotte, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Albany counties, and 
appointed a sub-committee of their body to repair to Al- 
bany and represent them in any emergency which might 
arise. 

The Bennington committee, aided by Colonel Seth 
Warner, were also very zealous in stirring up the Green 
Mountain Boys and the yeomanry of the New Hampshire 
grants, and sending them forward to Ticonderoga. 

General Schuyler also ordered General Petrus Ten 
Broeck to march up the New York militia under his 
command. He also ordered the militia from Fort Ed- 
ward into Tryon county, to relieve Colonel Dayton's 
Third New Jersey regiment, and sent an express to that 
officer at Fort Schuyler, to hasten his march to reinforce 
the army at Ticonderoga. He marched at once, and 
reached Saratoga on the 28th. Here he was detained 
by one of those constantly recurring rumors that the 
tories of Tryon county had gone to join Sir John John- 
son, who was about to invade that country. He contin- 
ued his march to Ticonderoga, after a short delay, and 
arrived there early in November. His regiment occupied 
the old fort, from which all the sick had been removed 
for their accommodation. Among the captains of Day- 
ton's regiment was Joseph Bloomfield, afterwards mem- 
ber of Congress and Governor of New Jersey. 

The militia from New England were directed to march 
over the Green mountains to Skenesborough. Those from 
Albany county were distributed by General Schuyler at 
Fort Miller, Fort Edward, Fort George, and such other 
posts as would be likely to secure the communications 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 179 

with Ticonderoga. Thus the lower country was soon 
alive with the movements of armed men. The New 
England militia moved with alacrity. Eight regiments 
of them reached Ticonderoga under Colonels Robinson, 
one hundred and six men ; Brownson, sixty-seven men ; 
Hale, twenty-four men ; Ashley, one hundred and seven 
men ; Bellows, sixty-four men ; Chase, fifty-four men ; 
Robinson, one hundred and thirty-one men; and Hyde, 
two hundred and seventy-four men. The whole eight 
regiments only aggregated eight hundred and twenty- 
seven men, and more than one of them had half as many 
officers as privates in the ranks. 

The New York militia moved up slowly and very re- 
luctantly. Many of them positively refused to march to 
Ticonderoga, and they began to desert in large numbers. 

Apprehensions began to spring up at this time that 
Ticonderoga was not sufficiently well stored with provi- 
sions to stand the siege which it might be called upon to 
undergo. The supply of Qour on hand did not exceed 
one thousand barrels, which was barely enough for six- 
teen days. The beef, including that which was being 
driven up, was only sufficient to last until the 1st of No- 
vember, and the mouths to be fed were daily increasing 
in number. 

This condition of things gave Washington far more 
concern than the slow and reluctant manner in which the 
militia were marching to their assistance. Indeed, Wash- 
ington's opinion of the militia generally was not flattering 
to them. "My experience of the many evils attending 
the calling in of a considerable body of raw militia," 
he wrote to General Schuyler on the 22d of October, 
" obliges me to give you my sentiments upon that head, 
and to tell you that I fear they will render you more 



180 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

disservice than any real good. From their want of every 
necessary for a camp, when they join a regular army 
they commit an intolerable waste of stores, which once 
put into their hands can scarcely be regained, and are so 
much dead loss to the public ; and for want of regularity 
in their drafts of ammunition, provision, and other neces- 
saries, they consume much more than it is convenient to 
spare from a garrison even near a source of supplies, 
much less from such a distance that it requu-es every 
exertion to keep up the magazines in the best of times. 
The vexation I have experienced from the humors and 
intolerable caprice of militia at a critical time makes me 
feel sensibly for the officer who is to depend on them in 
the day of trial. Instead of calling up a number of use- 
less hands and mouths, for such I deem the militia gen- 
erally, I would advise the collection of as much pro\ision 
as can possibly be got together." 

General Schuyler coincided with Washington in his 
opinion of the inefficiency of the militia. '•! read with 
sensible satisfaction," he replied, *^'3^our judicious remarks 
on the militia. I assure you they are realized in this 
quarter. If General Gates was not so very importunate 
to have them at Ticonderoga, I should certainly dismiss 
many of them, as they move with much reluctance, and 
will neither assist in fortifying or mounting guard." 

On the 25th of October, the Pennsylvania Council of 
Safety, upon the recommendation of Congress, promoted 
Lieutenant-Colonel James Irvine, to be colonel of the 
Ninth Pennsylvania Regiment, under the new Conti- 
nental establishment ; Major Anthony James Morris, to 
be lieutenant-colonel of De Haas' Regiment; Captain 
Jonathan Jones to be major of De Haas' Regiment, and 
Captain David Grier, to be major of Irvine's. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 181 

After the 25th, General Carleton transferred his head- 
quarters from the Maria to Crown Point. The Hesse 
Hanau artillery, as has been mentioned, were the only 
German troops that accompanied the British army to 
Crown Point. The rest remained in Canada. General 
Riedesel, however, visited Crown Point, and approached 
near enough to Ticonderoga to view the American works 
from an eminence. 

On the 27th the enemy's grenadiers, light infantry, 
and the twenty-fourth regiment, under General Fraser,* 

* Simon Fkasee was a Scotchman by birth, and said to be the youngest son of 
Hugh of Balnain. He served in one of the Scotch regiments in the pay of Hol- 
land, and entered the British army as captain of the Second Highland Regiment, 
January 11th, 1757. He served with distinction in Germany, and was made ma- 
jor of the Twenty-fourth Eegiment of Foot in March, 1761. He was promoted 
to the lieutenant-colonelcy of this regiment in July, 1768, and accompanied it 
to Canada in 1776. He was made brigadier-general by Sir Guy Carleton, May 
22d, 1776, and as such participated in the campaign of that year. He did not, 
however, rank as such in the British army, but only in the forces then engaged 
in Canada. He became colonel of his regiment, September 6th, 1777. He was 
the first to dash into Ticonderoga with his pickets, after its evacuation by St. 
Clair, on the 5th of July, 1777 ; pursued the retreating Americans, and defeated 
their rear guard at Hubbardtowu. He took a conspicuous part in the battles of 
September 19th and October 7th, 1777. In the latter engagement, while mounted 
upon an iron grey horse, a bullet cut the crupper of his horse, and another grazed 
his mane. " You are singled out general," said his aide de camp. " You had 
better shift jour ground." " My duty forbids me to fly from danger," was his 
reply. A moment afterwards he was shot down by Timothy Murphy, of North- 
umberland, Pennsylvania, a sharpshooter of Morgan's corps, posted in a tree. 
He was carried into the Baroness Riedesel's house about four o'clock in the 
afternoon, and learning that his wound was mortal, said if General Burgoyne 
would permit it he should like to be buried at six o'clock in the evening on the 
top of the mountain, in the redoubt which he had built there. He died at eight 
o'clock on the morning of the 8th, and, though the retreat was delayed by it, at 
six on the evening of the same day he was followed to the mountain by the gen- 
erals, where, Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain, read the burial service over his re- 
mains. The Americans, seeing indistinctly, what in the twilight appeared to be 
a movement of troops up the hill and in the redoubt, opened a cannonade upon 
them, by which the dust was frequently thrown over those who were assembled 
around the grave. General Gates stated afterwards, that had he known of the 
burial, the cannonading should have been instantly stopped. "To the canvas," 
wrote General Burgoyne, " and to the faithful page of a more important historian, 
gallant friend, I consign thy memory. There may thy talents, thy manly vir- 
tues, their progress, and their period, find due distinction." 



182 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

advanced as far as Putnam's Point, nine miles below 
Ticonderoga, on the west side of the lake, where they 
formed an advance post behind Putnam's Creek, under 
the guns of their vessels which had sailed up the lake. 
Their scouts of Indians and Canadians came near enough 
to the American lines to capture in the night two men 
who were carrying a sick soldier to the landing on Lake 
George on his way to the hospital. They killed the sick 
soldier and took the two men prisoners to the British 
camp. They were immediately released by General Carle- 
ton, and upon their return reported that they had wit- 
nessed such activity in the camp of the enemy as indi- 
cated an immediate attack. The British scouts also 
captured one of the New England militia who had ven- 
tured too far outside the lines. 

One-half of the troops at Ticonderoga, who by this time 
had arrived at a high state of discipline, were ordered to 
be alert all night, and the other half to sleep upon their 
arms. Scarcely time enough was given the men to eat 
their meals. The advance posts and guards were doubled, 
and at night officers and men alike slept in their clothes, 

Richard Stockton and George Clymer, a committee 
appointed by Congress to confer with General Gates 
upon the state of the Northern army, were present at 
Ticonderoga during these days as witnesses of the cour- 
age, vigilance, and suffering of the troops. They were 
greatly distressed at their forlorn condition at that severe 
season of the year, many of them being still barefooted 
and bare legged, "My heart melts," wrote Richard 
Stockton, "for my brave countrymen who are thus ven- 
turing their lives in the public service, and yet are so 
distressed. There is not a single shoe or stocking to be 
had in this part of the world, or I should ride a hundred 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 183 

miles through the woods and purchase them with my own 
money, for you'll consider that the weather here must 
be very different from that in New Jersey. It is very 
cold now I assure you." "We continued at Ticonderoga," 
they wrote to Congress from Albany on the 30th of No- 
vember, "in hourly expectation of sharing in the glory 
of our army in a successful opposition to the attack of 
General Carleton, but we were disappointed, and instead 
thereof, had the pleasure of knowing that he had totally 
evacuated Crown Point." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Alarm Guns Announce the Approach of the British — The Americans 
promptly Man the Fortifications — Landing of British Troops on Three-Mile 
Point — A Reconnaissance by British Gunboats — An Assault upon the Works 
Imminent — The British Troops Retire Without Striking a Blow — Further 
Suspense — Detachments sent by Gates to "beat up" the Enemy's advance 
post — The British Army Retreats into Canada — Gates Dismisses the Militia 
and Details a Permanent Garrison for Ticonderoga — Departure of the First 
Pennsylvania and First and Second New Jersey Regiments — Their March 
Southward — Departure of General Gates with Bond's, Porter's, Reed's, Be- 
del's, Stark's, Poor's, Greaton's, and Patterson's, Regiments — Their March 
to Reinforce Washington's Army — Departure of other Troops from Ticon- 
deroga — Dispatches for General Carleton which failed to reach him — Causes 
of the Retreat — Return of General Burgoyne to England — Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral John Burgoyne — Washington visits Ticonderoga — Conclusion. 

On Monday morning the 28th of October, the booming 
of the alarm gun on the advanced guard-boat down the 
lake, announced that the enemy were in motion. By a 
preconcerted arrangement this gun was instantly followed 
by another from the Jersey redoubt, which was followed 
by another from the main battery in the French lines, 
and still another, in quick succession, from the semi-cir- 
cular redoubt on Mount Independence. The reverbera- 
tions of these alarm guns had not died out in the neigh- 
boring hills, before every man who could carry a musket 
was in line, marching with a firm and confident step 
to the intrenchments. "Nothing could exceed," wrote 
General Gates, "the spirit and alertness which was shown 
by aU officers and soldiers in executing every order that 
was given." They had done days 'and nights of hard and 

(184) 



THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 185 

vigilant duty, lest this signal should come upon them un- 
awares. It found them ready. In a few minutes every 
man was at his post, coolly, confidently, and courage- 
ously awaiting the enemy's approach. It was a beautiful 
autumn day and the thousand forest tints were just 
dying out of the beautiful landscape about them. In an 
hour five of the enemy's largest gun-boats appeared in 
sight, and landed troops, including Indians and Cana- 
dians, on Three-Mile Point, on the west side of the lake, 
half an hour's march from the American alarm post. 
Two of the gun-boats then proceeded up the lake, in- 
clining toward the eastern shore for the purpose of 
avoiding the Jersey redoubt on the eastern point of 
Ticonderoga. They approached within three-quarters of 
a mile when a fire was opened upon them from the re- 
doubt, and also from the row-galley Trumbull, stationed 
over the boom. One shot took effect, killing two men, 
after which the boats hastily withdrew. Thirteen small 
bateaux and birch canoes, bearing troops, also crossed 
from Three-Mile Point to the east side of the lake, and 
landed the men about four miles below the redoubts on 
Mount Independence. It was believed that this party 
intended to occupy the point of land directly opposite 
the stone redoubts on the eastern point of Ticonderoga 
where the lake is less than half a mile wide and engage 
the redoubts from there. These movements indicated 
that the enemy were concentrating their main force on 
the west side of the lake, as was expected, and contem- 
plated an immediate attack upon the French lines and 
redoubts. The regimental colors were stuck in the top 
of the earthworks there, and were floating defiantly in 
the October breeze. General Gates immediately ordered 
Poor's, Reed's, and Greaton's regiments to cross the lake 



186 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

from Mount Independence and reinforce the troops in 
the French lines and redoubts. The order was obeyed 
with alacrity and dispatch. The guard-boat was ordered 
in. The nature of the country permitted the enemy to 
have a full view of the whole of the American works 
and the troops that defended them. " Ticonderoga," 
writes Colonel John Trumbull, the Adjutant-General, 
"must have had a very imposing aspect that day when 
viewed from the lake. The whole summit of cleared 
land on both sides of the lake was crowded with redoubts 
and batteries, all manned, with a splendid show of artil- 
lery and flags. The number of our troops under arms on 
that day (principally, however, militia,) exceeded thirteen 
thousand." Upwards of one hundred pieces of heavy 
cannon were mounted on the works. 

In this state of uncertainty and anticipation, the sit- 
uation remained aU day, when the enemy withdrew. 
About four o'clock they began to re-embark their troops, 
and the thirteen boats and canoes returned with the 
troops from the eastern shore of the lake. By sunset 
it was observed that the body of the enemy had retired. 
The guard-boat was ordered to resume its place, and 
General Gates thanked the troops "for the alert and 
spirited manner with which they prepared to face the 
enemy." 

The British advance post, consisting of all the light 
infantry, grenadiers, and a large body of Indians and 
Canadians, was still maintained behind Putnam's Creek, 
and three large vessels remained at anchor oif Putnam's 
Point. The British also stiU continued their occupation 
of Chimney and Crown Points. 

An attack was still daily expected, and the troops at 
Ticonderoga were kept constantly supplied with two 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 187 

days' cooked provisions. The same state of suspense 
and vigilance was prolonged throughout the entire week 
following, day and night. 

On Saturday evening, the 2d of November, at eight 
o'clock (the American works having been completed and 
placed in the best possible order), a detachment of four 
hundred men under Major James Dunlop of the Sixth 
Pennsylvania was sent down the west side of the lake, 
and simultaneously, a detachment of five hundred men 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Conner, of Connecticut, 
was sent down the east side of the lake for the purpose 
of "beating up" the enemy's advance post at Putnam's 
Creek, and the side of the lake opposite. They were 
provided with three days' cooked provisions. It was 
their intention to have attacked the enemy on Sunday 
morning. They found both posts abandoned. Major 
Dunlop took possession of Putnam's Point. They re- 
ported that they saw the enemy embarking, a vessel with 
live stock on board still remaining to protect the retreat. 
The last of the British troops abandoned Crown Point at 
ten o'clock on Monday morning, November 4th, leaving 
behind them evidences of precipitation. On the day the 
British evacuated Crown Point there was not a barrel of 
flour in the storehouse at Ticonderoga, and for a week 
thereafter a daily supply of only twenty to thirty barrels 
was drawn from the stores at Bennington by land. 

General Carleton, with the fleet, sailed down the lake 
and anchored in the vicinity of St. John's. Here the 
fleet was dismantled and prepared to withstand the rigors 
of a Canadian winter. The troops went into winter quar- 
ters in the settlements along the Sorel and St. Lawrence, 
and not a British soldier remained in front of the North- 
ern army on American soil. Two or three of them were 



188 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

quartered in each of the houses of those inhabitants who 
had been loyal to the crown, and a greater number upon 
those who had sympathized with the colonies. The 
troops were obliged to gather their own fuel. Their 
rations were furnished to them raw, and such things a& 
they obtained from their hosts they were obliged to pay 
for. From these quarters they emerged in the following 
spring to embark upon the expedition which ended in the 
surrender of Burgoyne. 

When General Gates learned that the British had 
evacuated Crown Point, he dispatched Colonel Wiggles- 
worth down the lake to Isle aux Noix with a flag of truce 
for the purpose of obtaining definite information of the de- 
signs of the enemy. Being thus reliably advised of the 
British retreat into Canada, he dismissed the militia, and 
detailed about fourteen hundred men, consisting of St. 
Clair's, Wayne's, and Irvine's, Pennsylvania ; Dayton's 
New Jersey; Burrell's Connecticut, and Whitcomb's 
Massachusetts regiments, as the permanent garrison of 
Ticonderoga, under command of Colonel Wayne. He 
ordered the First Pennsylvania Begiment, then number- 
ing four hundred and seventy-two men, and the First 
and Second New Jersey Regiments, with Generals St. 
Clair and Maxwell, to embark on Lake George for their 
homes at sunrise on the morning of the 15th of Novem- 
ber. The earth was then frozen hard and ice was begin- 
ning to form on the lakes. They marched to Albany, 
and from there descended the Hudson on sloops to New 
Windsor. 

In the meantime Washington sent pressing orders for 
them to join his army. Schuyler, therefore, counter- 
manded the orders to march to their homes, and ordered 
them to join Washington with all possible dispatch. It 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 189 

was one of the conditions of their re-enlistment under 
the new establishment that they should be allowed to 
visit their homes before again engaging in active service. 
The regimental order at the time of their re-enlistment 
at Ticonderoga, being that they should receive "a full 
assurance of returning to Pennsylvania as soon as the 
enemy are defeated, which the colonel hopes will be in a 
few days, perhaps in a few hours." "I shall not fail to 
do everything in my power to inspirit the troops," wrote 
General St. Clair, in reply to Schuyler's orders, "but I 
doubt very much that they will not easily be kept to- 
gether. I hope to get them to General Washington's 
army, and if they once come in sight of the enemy they 
will be satisfied." From New Windsor, the First Penn- 
sylvania Regiment marched by the way of Haverstraw 
and Pompton to Morristown, New Jersey, and from there 
continued their march to Pluckamin, about thirty miles 
north of Trenton, at which place they arrived about the 
3d of December. 

Washington, who was then at Trenton with his army, 
ordered them to halt at Pluckamin, and to be kept to- 
gether, if they could possibly be prevailed upon to do so, 
until further orders. They marched to New German- 
town, six miles to the west, where on the 8th they mus- 
tered only forty-seven rank and file fit for duty, and 
seventeen sick. On the same day the rear of Washing- 
ton's army crossed to the Pennsylvania side of the Del- 
aware. The advance division of the British army under 
General Howe reached the Delaware at Trenton a few 
hours after Washington's army had crossed, and the rear 
division under Lord Cornwallis reached the river at 
Coryell's Ferry (now Lambertville) on the next day. 
Washington having collected or destroyed all the boats, 



190 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

their further progress was arrested at this point. The 
hilly country to the north remained in the occupation of 
the Americans. General Sullivan, with Lee's division of 
the American army, was at New Germantown when Lee 
was captured at Baskingridge on the 13th. 

On a return of his officers, dated Philadelphia, January 
10th, 1777, Colonel de Haas made the following endorse- 
ment : — " This is to certify that during the time I had the 
honor to command the above gentlemen, they behaved 
themselves like gentlemen, and as became good soldiers." 

Toward the close of November, General Gates left 
Ticonderoga, with Bond's, Porter's, Heed's, Bedel's, 
Stark's, Poor's, Greaton's, and Patterson's regiments for 
the purpose of reinforcing General Washington's army, 
which was then on its retreat across the Jerseys, reduced 
to three thousand men. They descended the Hudson in 
boats from Albany to Esopus, and marched from there 
to Sussex Court House, in New Jersey. Greaton's, 
Bond's, and Porter's marched from Sussex to Morris- 
town, where they remained under command of General 
Maxwell, for the protection of the surrounding country 
which had been abandoned by the militia. General 
Gates, with Reed's, Bedel's, Stark's, Poor's, and Patter- 
son's regiments crossed the Delaware above Easton and 
marched to Bethlehem where they were joined by Lee's 
division under General Sullivan, which had marched from 
New Germantown, and crossed the Delaware at Easton. 
Together these troops joined Washington's army at his 
camp above Trenton Falls, on the 20th of December. 

Wingate's and Wyman's New Hampshire regiments 
left Ticonderoga for Number Four by the new road which 
had been opened from Mount Independence to Rutland. 
Swift's and Mott's Connecticut regiments marched for 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 191 

their homes by the Skenesborough and Bennington road 
by which they had come. Brewer's, Willard's, Read's, 
Wigglesworth's, and Phinney's Massachusetts regiments 
marched down to Albany and from there to their homes 
by the way of Hadley on the Connecticut river. Wheel- 
ock's, and Woodbridge's Massachusetts regiments, not 
being able to obtain bateaux for transportation across 
Lake George, went home on November 25th, by the way 
of Skenesborough and Number Four. 

Thus ended the Northern campaign of 1776, "an enter- 
prise," writes a distinguished historian, "bold in its con- 
ception, daring and hardy in its execution ; full of inge- 
nious expedients, and hazardous exploits ; and which, 
had not unforeseen circumstances counteracted its well- 
devised plans, might have added all Canada to the Amer- 
ican confederacy." 

Generals Burgoyne and Phillips had strongly advo- 
cated an attack upon Ticonderoga and resisted the evac- 
uation of Crown Point, but were over-ruled by General 
Carleton, the wisest soldier of them all. Though greatly 
depressed in spirit at the result of the campaign, he had 
determined to send the army into winter-quarters in 
Canada. The demonstration of the 28th of October was 
not with the intention of making an attack upon the 
Americans, but was rather a reconnaissance in force 
made in the hope that, discouraged by the loss of their 
fleet, they would be driven by such a display of force 
upon his part to evacuate the place. Little did he un- 
derstand his enemy. Disappointed at his failure, he at 
once made preparations to withdraw his forces down the 
lake, and on the 15th went himself to his winter res- 
idence at Quebec. 

Sir Guy Carleton had sent his aid-de-camp. Captain 



192 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

Le Maitre, to England, with dispatches, in one of the ves- 
sels which had brought out the reinforcements in June. 
On the 22d of August, Lord George Germain had sent a 
dispatch to Sir Guy Carleton by this officer, who sailed 
from Falmouth, in the packet Swallow, on the 1st of 
September. He succeeded in getting into the gulf of St. 
Lawrence three times, but owing to adverse winds he 
found it impossible to ascend to Quebec. He therefore 
returned to England carrying the dispatch with him. 
It directed that as soon as Carleton had succeeded in 
driving the Americans out of Canada, he should return 
to Quebec, taking with him such portions of the army as 
he should deem sufficient for the defence of the province, 
and detach Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, or such other 
officer as he should think proper, with the remainder of 
the troops, "and direct the officer so detached to proceed 
with all possible expedition to join General Howe and 
put himself under his command." Had that dispatch 
reached its destination, Burgoyne would doubtless have 
hurled his well-equipped legions against the works at 
Ticonderoga and been repulsed with frightful slaughter. 
The result of the campaign would in aU probability have 
been the same, but by this action of the elements it was 
accomplished without the shedding of blood. 

On the 24 th of October, Sir Guy Carleton, wrote to 
Lord George Germain as follows : — " The season is so far 
advanced that I can not yet pretend to inform your lord- 
ship whether anything further can be done this season." 
The lateness of the season was not the cause of his fail- 
ure. It was only a pretext with which Carleton sought 
to forestall the unfavorable impression which the news of 
his retreat was sure to produce upon the government at 
home. He only used it to prepare the way with them 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 193 

for the reception of the news of that event. It deceived 
no one, not even himself. Two months later Washing- 
ton's little army, including many of the troops who were 
then at Ticonderoga, passed the Delaware through the 
ice and, leaving their blood in their frozen tracks, marched 
against the Hessians at Trenton, retrieved the fortunes 
of the war, and regained New Jersey. From the time 
the British army reached St. Johns on the 19th of June, 
there remained but one issue between the contending 
armies — the control of the way to the Hudson. The 
British army was fresh from Europe, well supplied and 
equipped in everything. The American army had en- 
dured the hardships of a winter campaign, and was 
wasted by disease, famine, nakedness, and defeat. Yet 
notwithstanding this disparity between them the Amer- 
icans conquered their misfortunes, and on the 3d of Sep- 
tember had their fleet at the northern end of Lake 
Champlain, almost within the British lines, and with 
two months of the finest campaigning weather of the 
year before them. The Americans during all this time 
were in constant expectation of an attack from the Brit- 
ish, and their delay was a continued source of surprise 
and perplexity to them. The true cause of Carleton's 
retreat was a want of confidence in his ability to carry 
the American works, and a dread of the consequences 
of defeat. He had come with all the pomp and circum- 
stance of war to the very gates of the fortress, and when 
defied by the troops that held it, he retired hastily be- 
yond the waters of the lake, knowing as he did that any 
attempt upon the works must result in fearful loss of 
life, if not in the destruction of his army. Had he 
adopted any other course, the fate of Abercrombie's 
legions might have been repeated. 



194 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

General Burgoyne* returned to England toward the 
close of the year with news of the failure of the expe- 
dition, and the retreat of the army to Canada, This 
unwelcome intelligence occasioned so much disappoint- 
ment and dissatisfaction that both Carleton and Burgoyne 
were in great disfavor with the government. Lord 
George Germain stigmatized the campaign as "opera- 
tions conducted without sense or vigor." He had ex- 
pected far different results. When he heard that the 
siege of Quebec had been raised, and had issued a ga- 
zette extraordinary announcing that event, he sat down 
and wrote to Governor Tryon, in the exultation of the 



*JoHN Burgoyne was the natural son of Lord Bingley, and adopted the 
profession of arms at a very early age. He eloped while a lieutenant, with a 
daughter of the Earl of Derhy. lie served as a captain in France. In August, 
1759, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Sixteenth Regiment of Light 
Dragoons, and served in ITGl at Belle Isle. In 1762 he was made brigadier-gen- 
eral, and sent with a force to join Count Lippe, in Portugal, to fight against Spain. 
In that campaign he distinguished himself by the surprise and capture of Va- 
lentia d'Alcantara. He was elected to Parliament from the borough of Middle- 
sex, and made major-general in 1772. He was in Parliament when the American 
Revolution began, and obeyed a summons to take part in it with the rank of 
lieutenant-general. He landed at Boston in time to witness the battle of Bunker's 
Hill, and praised the Americans for the courage and ability displayed by them 
on that memorable day. He returned to England and sailed for Canada, in April, 
1776. He again returned to England at the close of the campaign of that year, 
and came back to Canada in the spring of 1777 to undertake the expedition which 
resulted in his surrender to General Gates, at Saratoga, in October, 1777. Upon 
his return to England after that disaster he was denied an audience of the King, 
and refused a court-martial. He was again elected to Parliament from Preston 
in Lancashire, and was one of the managers for conducting the impeachment of 
Warren Hastings. After the close of the American war he was made commander- 
in-chief in Ireland. He resigned this position two years later, and devoted the 
remainder of his life to literary pursuits. He possessed considerable literary 
vanity. Horace Walpole ridiculed his early literary eflForts, but was obliged to 
admit that his later comedy " The Heiress," possessed decided merit. He was 
tall, handsome, and graceful in manner, but, though his career was conspicuous 
and brilliant, he was not great in either civil, or military life. His polished 
manners and accomplishments made him a great favorite in society, and he was 
one of the most fashionable gentlemen of his day. His successful and fortunate 
career came to a dismal close in his humiliating surrender at Saratoga, from the 
effects of which his reputation never recovered. He died June 4th, 1792. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 195 

moment, that he had no doubt Crown Point and Ticon- 
deroga would be restored to his Majesty's possession 
before the campaign was ended. He was in no humor, 
therefore, to welcome Burgoyne, and it was some time 
before the King would grant him an audience. 

Too great measure of praise and gratitude can not be 
meted out to this heroic little American army, which, in 
so short a time, and under so many disadvantages, had 
arisen out of its own ashes, and turned back the same 
proud British army which under the same officers per- 
ished in fire and blood at Saratoga, in the following year. 
It was then quite as numerous as it was at Saratoga, 
quite as well if not better equipped, quite as boastful 
and defiant. It was flushed with the victory on the lake 
which had destroyed the American fleet, and given it un- 
disputed control of the waters of Champlain. It was 
bent upon the same mission of forming a junction with 
the British army in New York under Howe, and by thus 
controlling the water line from the Gulf of St, Lawrence 
to New York bay, to effectually sever all communication 
between the eastern colonies and those to the south. 

Had Carleton not been compelled, by the defiant front 
presented by the American forces at Ticonderoga, to stay 
the blow which he had lifted his hand to strike, history 
would now record as bloody if not a bloodier scene there, 
and the story of Saratoga might never have been told. 
Gates, who was popular with the army, was there pre- 
pared to meet the issue then, as at Saratoga. Schuyler 
had not then been unjustly and ungenerously superseded 
by Congress. Arnold was there ready to surpass, if pos- 
sible, his brilliant achievements at Saratoga, for his rela- 
tions with Gates were then more cordial. John Stark 
was there, also, to anticipate, if it had been necessary, 



196 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 

under more favorable auspices (for he had not then been 
driven from the army by the ingratitude of Congress) 
his brilliant victory at Bennington. Enoch Poor was 
there also ; and in addition to this brilliant array of 
names, which acquired new lustre at Saratoga instead of 
acquiring it there, they had among them the gallant and 
fearless Anthony Wayne. 

An eminent writer, in speaking of those times which 
tried men's souls, has said that "all the defeats, indeed, 
all the struggles, the battles, the sacrifices, the sufferings 
at all times, and in every colony, were indispensable to 
the great result — all essential lights and shades in the 
immortal picture." "The severest trials of the Revolu- 
tion," writes another, "in fact, were not in the field, where 
there were shouts to excite and laurels to be won, but 
in the squalid wretchedness of ill-provided camps, where 
there was nothing to cheer and everything to be endured. 
To suffer was the lot of the Revolutionary soldier." 

Though posterity does not recall with the same inter- 
est, and the historian has not felt it to be necessary to 
dwell upon this bloodless victory at Ticonderoga and the 
sad events which preceded it, with the same detail that 
the glory of Saratoga is recorded, yet in sufferings and 
sacrifices, as well as in results, it was one of the most 
important victories of the war. No one will now admit 
that if those brave, vigilant, and poorly-clad men had 
not successfully stood in the intrenchments at Ticonder- 
oga day and night through those bleak autumn weeks, 
ready to shed their blood in defence of their liberties, the 
result would have been fatal to the cause of American 
Independence. There can be little doubt, however, that 
it would greatly have embarrassed that cause, at a time 
when it already had more than it could bear; indeed, 



CONQUEST OF CANADA. 197 

that it would have prolonged the struggle, if it had not 
crushed it outright for the time being. If Carleton had 
defeated them, and Ticonderoga had been evacuated, as 
it was in the following year, Congress, which had fled 
to Baltimore, and the colonists, who Avere then entering 
upon the darkest days of the whole struggle, would not 
have been as able to prevent him from going into winter 
quarters at Albany, as they were to prevent Burgoyne 
in the following year. Washington, with his weak and 
dissolving army, then fleeing across New Jersey before 
the victorious British forces, would not have been as able 
to send them reinforcements, and to prevent Howe and 
Cornwallis from co-operating with Sir Henry Clinton by 
engaging their attention with the army of Brandywine 
and Germantown, as he was in the following year. More- 
over, Washington would not then have received the rein- 
forcements which enabled him to regain New Jersey. 

The repulse of Carleton was the only event which shed 
a ray of hope upon the dark despondency of that fall. 
It not only effectually disposed of a great danger from 
the north, but it turned the tide of fortune in favor of 
the American arms to the south by releasing the troops 
that enabled Washington to strike the successful blow at 
Trenton. 

The confidence inspired by the repulse of Carleton, 
doubtless led to the supineness which enabled Burgoyne 
to advance, without resistance, to the Hudson in 1777. 

In July, 1783, whilst awaiting the arrival of the 
definitive treaty of peace, Washington, accompanied by 
Governor Clinton, visited Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 
and examined with interest each spot made memorable 
by the events that have just been recited. He was 
thus among the first of the long line of pilgrims who 
have followed in the century that has since elapsed. 



198 THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 

The story of the sufferings, the zeal, the patience, the 
patriotism, the perseverance, and the valor of the men 
who won this victory at Ticonderoga, should be held in 
grateful remembrance by their countrymen to the latest 
generation. Like the story of Valley Forge, it is not 
told in startling deeds of blood. Though but few had 
perished by the sword, yet five thousand who had gone 
out at the call of their country never returned. More 
than one out of every three became the victims of pest- 
ilence, want, and exposure, and many of those who passed 
through the campaign, came out of it with broken con- 
stitutions to fill premature graves. 



APPENDIX. 



Officers of the 
FIKST PENNSYLYANIA KEGIMENT 

In the Regular Continental Army. 



Colonel, 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . 
Major, 

Chaplain, . 
Adjutant, 
Quartermaster, . 
Surgeon, . 
Surgeon, 
Surgeon's Mate, 

Captains : 

1. Jonathan Jones, 

2. William Williams, 

3. Josiah Harmar, 

4. Marien Lamar, 

5. Thomas Dorsey, 

6. William Jenkins, 

7. Augustin Willet, 

8. Benjamin Davis, 

9. John Nelson. 



Field Officers: 

. John Philip De Haas. 

James Irvine. 
. Anthony James Morris. 



Staff: 



Daniel McCalla, 

John Patterson. 

Jacob Shallus. 

Robert Boyd, Resigned Aprii w, '76. 

Benjamin Alison, June is, i776. 

Nicholas Scull. 

First Lieutenants: 

1. Samuel Watson, 

2. Jacob Ashmead, 

3. Peter Hughes, 

4. Adam Hubley, 

5. John Pees, 

6. Frederick Blankenberg, 

7. Richard Stanly, 

8. John Morgan, 

9. William Oldham. 



(199) 



2( 


)0 APPENDIX. 




Second Lieutenants : 


Ensigns : 


1. 


Roger Stayner, Jr., 


1. Philip Clumberg, Jr., 


2. 


George Jenkins, 


2. Jacob Ziegler. 


3. 


Christian Staddel, 


3. Thomas Ryerson, 


4. 


Amos Wilkinson, 


4. William Moore, 


5. 


John Ellis, 


5. Joseph Greenway, 


6. 


Samuel Tolbert, 


6. John Irwin, 


7. 


Peter Gossner, 


7. John Price, 


8. 


John Cobea, 


8. Benjamin Rice, 


9. 


Adam Ott. 


9. Robert McCollom. 



Officers of the 
PENXSYLYANIA ARTILLERY. 



Captain, 

Captain Lieutenant, 
First Lieutenant, 
Second Lieutenant, . 
Third Lieutenant, 
Conductor, . . 



Bernard Romans. 
GiBBs Jones. 
Matthew Whitlow. 
Nathaniel Donnell. 
Thomas Barr. 
Andrew Caldwell. 



APPENDIX. 



201 



Officers of the 
SECOIS^D PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENT 

In the Regular Continental Army. 





Field { 


Officers : 




Colonel, .... 


Arthur St. Clair. 




Lieutenant- Colonel, . 


y\ 


^iLLiAM Allen, Jr. 




Major, .... 


Joseph Wood. 




Staff: 






Adjutant, .... 


George Ross. 




Quartermaster, 


James Armstrong. 




Surgeoyi, .... 


Samuel McKinzie. 




Chaplain, 


Daniel McCalla. 




Paymaster .... 


Benjamin Fishbourne 




Drum Major, . 


John Hall. 




Captains : 




First Lieutenants : 


1. 


Samuel Watson, 


1. 


John Chilton. 


2. 


Rudolph Bunner. 


2. 


Thomas L. Moore. 


3. 


Thomas Craig. 


3. 


Andrew Kachlein. 


4. 


William Butler. 


4. 


Thomas Butler. 


5. 


Stephen Bayard. 


5. 


James Chrystie. 


6. 


John Brisban. 


6. 


John Gross. 


7. 


John Reese. 


7. 


Samuel Moore. 


8. 


John Huling. 


8. 


William Burd. 




Second Lieutenants: 




Ensigns : 


1. 


James Montgomery. 


1. 


Benjamin Miller. 


2. 


Ezra Bartleson. 


2. 


George Ross. 


3. 


John Craig. 


3. 


Thomas Park. 


4. 


Charles Seitz. 


4. 


George McCully. 


5. 


Isaac Budd Dunn. 


5. 


James Black. 


6. 


William Chambers. 


6. 


John Evans. 


7. 




7. 


Henry Eppley. 


8. 


Ross Currie. 


8. 


William Craig. 



202 appendix. 

Officers op the 
FOURTH PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENT 

In the Regular Continental Army. 





Field Officers: 




Colonel, .... 


Anthony Wayne. 




Lieutenant- Colonel, . 


Francis Johnston. 




Major, .... 


Nicholas Haussegger. 




Staff: 






Adjutant, .... 


Michael Ryan. 




Quartermaster, 


John Harper. 




Surgeon, .... 


Samuel Kennedy. 




Chaplain, 


David Jones. 




Paymaster, .... 


James Hunter. 




Captains : 




First Lieutenants : 


1. 


Thomas Robinson. 


1. 


John Christie. 


2. 


Thomas Church. 


2. 


James R. Reid. 


3. 


John Lacey. 


3. 


Samuel Smith. 


4. 


Persifor Frazer. 


4. 


Benjamin Bartholomew 


5. 


James Taylor. 


5. 


Michael Kimmell. 


6. 


Caleb North. 


6. 


Joseph Potts. 


7. 


James Moore. 


7. 


John Williamson. 


8. 


Frederick Vernon. 


8. 


Alexander Johnston. 




Second Lieutenants: 




Ensigns : 


1. 


William Moulder. 


1. 


Thomas Wallace. 


2. 


Charles C. Beatty. 


2. 


Job Vernon. 


3. 


Michael Ryan. 


3. 


John Barckley. 


4. 


Isaac Seely. 


4. 


Levi Griffith. 


5. 


Thomas Boude. 


5. 


Ezekiel Letts. 


6. 


Alexander McClintock. 


6. 


Jacob Funk. 


7. 


Robert Gregg. 


7. 


John Wallace. 


8. 


Charles McHenry. 


8. 


Joseph Standley. 



appendix. 203 

Officers of the 
SIXTH PENNSYLYANIA KEGIMENT 

In the Regular Continental Army. 



Colonel, 

Lieutenant Colonel, 
Major, 

Adjutant, 
Quartermaster, 
Surgeon, 
Surgeon^s Mate, 
Chaplain, . 

Captains : 

1. Samuel Hay. 

2. Robert Adams. 

3. Abraham Smith. 

4. William Rippey. 

5. James A. Wilson. 

6. David Grier. 

7. Moses McClean. 

8. Jeremiah Talbot. 



Field Officers : 

. William Irvine. 

Thomas Hartley. 
. James Dunlop. 

Staff: 
. John Brooks. 

James Calderwood. 
. Robert Johnston. 

John McDowell. 
. William Linn. 

First Lieutenants : 

1. John Grier. 

2. William Bratton. 

3. Robert White. 

4. William Alexander. 

5. Lewis Bush. 

6. John McDowell. 

7. John Edie. 

8. John McDonald. 



Second Lieutenants : 

1. Alexander Parker. 

2. Samuel McFerren. 

3. John Alexander. 

4. John Brooks. 

5. Robert Wilson. 

6. Abdiel McAlister. 

7. John Hoge. 

8. Alexander Brown. 
Andrew Irvine, vice John 

23d, 1776. 



Ensigns : 

1. William Miller. 

2. John Murray. 

3. Samuel Montgomery. 

4. William Lusk. 

5. Joseph Culbertson. 

6. William Nichols. 

7. Robert Hopes. 

8. William Graham. 
Alexander, promoted March 



204 appendix. 

Akrangement op the Field Officers 

OF THK 

TWELVE PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENTS 

In the Regular Continental Army, January, 1777. 



First Regiment. 



Colonel, Edward Hand. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . James Chambers. 
Major, James Ross. 

Second Regiment. 

Colonel, John Philip De Haas. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Anthony James Morris. 
Major, Jonathan Jones. 

Third Regiment. 

Colonel, Joseph Wood. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Thomas Craig. 
Major, William Butler. 

Fourth Regiment. 

Colonel, Lambert Cadwalader. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Daniel Brodhead. 
Major, AViLLiAM West, Jr. 

Fifth Regiment. 

Colonel, Anthony Wayne. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Francis Johnston. 
Major, Persifor Frazer. 



appendix. 205 

Sixth Regiment. 

Colonel, Robert Magaw. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Henry Bicker. 
Major, John Beatty. 

Seventh Regiment. 

Colonel, William Irvine. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Thomas Hartley. 
Major, David Grier. 

Eighth Regiment. 

Colonel, Aeneas Mackey. 

Lieutenant-Colonel, . . George Wilson. 
Major, Richard Butler. 

Ninth Regiment. 

Colonel, James Irvine. 

Lieutenant-Colonel, . . George Nagel. 
Major, John Patton. 

Tenth Regiment. 

Colonel, Joseph Penrose. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . James Dunlop. 
Major, Henry Bicker. 

Eleventh Regiment. 

Colonel, Richard Humpton. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Francis Gurney. 
Major, Francis Mentges, 

Twelfth Regiment. 

Colonel, William Cooke. 

Lieutenant-Colonel, . . Neigal Gray. 
Major, James Crawford. 



206 appendix. 

Arrangement of the Field Officers 

OF THE 

TWELVE PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENTS 

In the Regular Continental Army, March 12th, 1777. 



First Regiment. 



Colonel, Edward Hand. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . James Ross. 
Major, Henry Miller. 

Second Regiment. 

Colonel, James Irvine. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Jonathan Jones. 
Major, . . . ■ . . William Williams. 

Third Regiment. 

Colonel, Joseph Wood. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Thomas Craig. 
Major, . . . . . JosiAH Harmar, 

Fourth Regiment. 

Colonel, Lambert Cadwalader. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . William Butler. 
Major, Marien Lamar. 

Fifth Regiment. 

Colonel, Francis Johnston. 

Lieutenant-Colonel, . . Persifor Frazer. 
Major, Thomas Robinson. 



APPENDIX. 207 

Sixth Regiment. 

Colonel, Robert Magaw. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Henry Bicker. 
Major, Samuel Benezet. 

Seventh Regiment. 

Colonel, William Irvine. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . David Grier. 
Major, Samuel Hay. 

Eighth Regiment. 

Colonel, Daniel Brodhead. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Richard Butler. 
Major, Stephen Bayard. 

Ninth Regiment. 

Colonel, Anthony James Morris. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . George Nagel. 
Major, Matthew Smith. 

Tenth Regiment. 

Colonel, James Chambers. 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Adam Hubley, Jr. 
Major, Caleb North. 

Eleventh Regiment. 

Colonel, ..... Richard Humpton. 
Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Francis Gurney. 
Major, Francis Mentges. 

Twelfth Regiment. 

Colonel, William Cooke, 

Lieutenant- Colonel, . . Neigal Gray. 
Major, James Crawford. 



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Il^DEX. 



Adams, John, attends council of offi- 
cers at Cambridge, 19 ; comments 
on the misfortunes of the army in 
Canada, 97 ; notifies General Gates 
of his appointment, 99. 

Adams, Captain Robert, massacred 
at Isle aux Noix, 95. 

AcKLAND, Major John Dyke, 157. 

AcKLAND, Lady Hakkiet, 157. 

Alarm posts established at Ticonde- 
roga, 114; troops repair to, 176. 

Albany, arrival of Pennsylvania 
troops at, 22 ; General Tlaomas ar- 
rives at, 35; General Gates arrives 
at, 99 ; militia arrive at, 147 ; Massa- 
chusetts troops return home by way 
of, 191. 

Alison, Surgeon Benjamin, 177. 

Allen, Ethan, capture of Ticonde- 
roga by, 123 

Allen, Thomas, killed by savages, 
145. 

Allen, William, appointed Captain 
of the First Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, 5; biographical sketch of, 6; 
powder in charge of, captured, 45 ; 
member of council of war at Des- 
chambault, 47; resignation of, 138. 

Ammunition, General Gates calls 
upon Congress for, 125; supply of, 
arrives at Ticonderoga, 126, 176. 

Antell, Lieutenant-Colonel, mem- 
ber of council of war at Descham- 
bault, 47 ; 

Arms, measures for their manufac- 
ture, 3 ; a gunsmith makes twenty- 
five at Bedford, 4; steps for their 
importation, 4 ; confiscation of, at 
Philadelphia, 4. 

Armstrong's British regiment, 55. 

Army, organization of the regular 
Continental, 4; short enlistments 
therein, 5 ; American army before 
Quebec, 29, 40 ; control and direct- 
ion of the Northern, 34 ; Lee ap- 
pointed to the command of the army 



in Canada, 34; John Thomas ap- 
pointed in his stead, 35 ; retreat of 
the American army from Quebec, 
44; condition of the American 
army at Sorel, 61, 81 ; command of 
A merican army devolves upon Gen- 
eral Sullivan, 68; retreat of the 
American army from Sorel, 82 ; 
British army that ascended the St. 
Lawrence, 86 ; American army at 
Isle aux Noix, 92 ; at Crown Point, 
97, 100; General Gates appointed 
to the command of the army in 
Canada, 99 ; at Ticonderoga, 109 ; 
composition of the American army 
that retreated from Canada, 110; 
chills and fever in British and 
American armies, 115; reinforce- 
ments for the American army at 
Ticonderoga, 128 ; situation of the 
British army, 144, 157 ; interest of 
Congress and the Colonies in the 
Northern army, 154; estates of Ca- 
nadians who followed American, 
confiscated, 156 ; strength of the 
British army in Canada, 157 ; Brit- 
ish army embarks upon Lake Cham- 
plain, 158; British army occupies 
Crown and Chimney Points, 173; 
advance post of British army at 
Putnam's Point, 182 ; advance of 
the British army upon Ticonderoga, 
184; British army retires from be- 
fore Ticonderoga, 186 ; British army 
evacuates Crown Point and retreats 
to Canada, 187 ; British army quar- 
ters upon inhabitants along the So- 
rel and St. Lawrence rivers, 188. 
Arnold Benedict, in command of 
army before Quebec, 18; promotion 
of, to rank of brigadier-general, 28 ; 
is relieved and repairs to Montreal, 
32 ; sets out to reinforce the post at 
the Cedars, 60 ; his pursuit of For- 
ster's party, 61 ; demands the sur- 
render of the prisoners taken by 



(211) 



212 



INDEX. 



Forster,62 ; agrees upon an exchange 
of the prisoners, 64 ; retreats from 
Montreal, and reaches St. Johns, 
89 ; last man to quit the shore, 90 ; 
accompanies Generals Schuyler and 
Gates to Crown Point, 100; super- 
intends embarkation of troops from 
Crown Point, 110; commands a bri- 
gade at Mount Independence, 111; 
prefers charges against Colonel Mo- 
ses Hazen, 126 ; disrespectful treat- 
ment of the court-martial by, 126 ; 
his arrest requested, but refused, 
126 ; assigned to the command of 
the fleet, 141 ; suffers from a slight 
attack of intermittent fever, 143; 
conflict of authority between, and 
Captain Wynkoop, 143 ; sails with 
the fleet from Crown Point, 143; 
posts his guard-boats below Wind- 
mill Point, 145; sends spies from Val- 
cour Island into Canada, 150 ; shifts 
his quarters from the Royal Savage 
to the Congress, 150 ; returns to Ti- 
conderoga, 160 ; arrests disaffected 
persons, 161 ; effects of, destroyed 
on board the Koyal Savage, 165; 
points guns on board the Congress 
with his own hands, 165 ; at Schuy- 
ler's Island, 167 ; portrait of, 168 ; 
sends his papers and money to Gen- 
eral Schuyler, 174 ; assigned to the 
command of the redoubts on the flat 
ground and the vessels, 174. 

Aktificers, sent by Washington to 
Canada, 37 ; another company is 
sent from New York, 38. 

Artillery, Pennsylvania, 36, 111, 
137 ; Massachusetts, 36, 49, 71, 111, 
137 ; British, 85, 86, 87, 144, 158, 
163, 170; Hesse Hanau, 156, 159, 
163, 166, 170, 181. 

Ashley, Colonel, New England regi- 
ment of militia under, reaches Ti- 
conderoga, 179. 

Association, articles of, adopted in 
1774, 3. 

AssociATORS, formation of companies 
of, in Philadelphia, 2 ; in Berks 
County, 2 ; clergy preach to, 2. 

Axes sent to Ticonderoga, 113. 

Badlaji, Captain S., company of ar- 
tillery under, at Ticondeioga, 134. 

Bakgor Church, vii, 2. 

Barber provided at Crown Point, 
97. 



Earner, Lietitenant-Colonel, in com- 
mand of Hessian troops, 157. 

Barnet, Surgeon, 177. 

Barracks at Philadelphia, 11 ; at 
Fort George, 25 ; at St. Johns, 27. 

Barton, Eev. Thomas, rector of 
Bangor Church, 2; biographical 
sketch of, 2. 

Baskingridge, General Lee captured 
at, 190. 

Batteries erected at Quebec, 31 ; at 
Sorel, 82; at Mount Independence, 
114; at Ticonderoga, 137, 177. 

Baum, Frederick, Lieutenant-Col- 
onel of Hessian troops, 84, 85. 

Beaujeu, M., leads a party for the 
relief of Quebec, 31 ; is defeated, 
and his party dispersed, 31. 

Bedel, Timothy, colonel of a regi- 
ment furnished by New Hamp- 
shire, at the call of Washington, to 
reinforce the army in Canada, 20 ; 
their march for Canada, 36 ; or- 
dered to the Cedars, 54 ; abandons 
his post, 55; is court-martialed and 
cashiered, 57 ; regiment of, at Ber- 
thier, 81 ; regiment of, retreats from 
Canada, 111; regiment of, leaves 
Ticonderoga, 190; joins Washing- 
ton's army above Trenton Falls, 
190. 

Beef, fresh, furnished to American 
army at Ticonderoga, 116. 

Bellows, Colonel, New England re- 
giment of militia under, reaches 
Ticonderoga, 179. 

Bennington, axes sent to Ticonder- 
oga by way of, 113; Connecticut 
militia marches by way of, 130; 
committee at, sends militia to Ti- 
conderoga, 178; supplies for Ticon- 
deroga drawn from, 187 ; Connec- 
ticut troops return to their homes 
by way of, 191. 

Berks County, Pennsylvania, Com- 
pany of Associators raised in, by 
Jonathan Jones, 2; organization of 
Committee of Safety in, 3. 

Berthier, guard stationed at, 67 ; 
American troops arrive at, after 
their defeat at Three Rivers, 77; 
escape of guard from, 86. 

Biddle, Edward, 3. 

BiGELOW, Major John, covers re- 
treat with artillery squad at St. 
Johns, 89 ; bearer of dispatches to 
General Burgoyne, 119. 



INDEX. 



213 



BiOGRAPHicAii Sketches of Jona- 
than Jones, vi. ; Thomas Barton, 
2 ; William Irvine, 6 ; William 
Allen, 6; William Williams, 7; 
Josiah Harmar, 7; Marien Lamar, 
8; Tliomas Dorsey, 8; Augnstin 
Willet, 8; William Jenkins, 8; 
John Bull, 8 ; John Philip deliaas, 
9 ; James Irvine, 10 ; Anthony 
James Morris, 11 ; William Max- 
well, 18; John Thomas, 35; Eb- 
enezer Stevens, 36 ; Sir Guy Carle- 
ton, 46 ; John Patterson, 55 ; Wil- 
liam Thompson, 67 ; Enoch Poor, 
111 ; Baron deWoedtke, 110; John 
Greaton, 115; James Brickett, 135; 
James Reed, 138 ; Edward Wig- 
glesworth, 149 ; William Phillips, 
158; Thomas Hartley, 170; Simon 
Eraser, 181 ; John Burgoyne, 194. 

Biscuits and hard bread baked at 
Eorts George and Ticonderoga, 24. 

Bliss, Captain Theodore, sent to 
Quebec as hostage for the prisoners 
taken at the Cedars, 64. 

Blonde, British frigate, convoys fleet 
from Spithead, 85. 

Bloomfield, Joseph, captain in Day- 
ton's New Jersey regiment, 178. 

Boats, description of, 24; crews of 
American ves-^els escape in. from 
Quebec, 45 ; Sullivan's brigade de- 
tained until boats could be built 
for them, 48; six or eigiit con- 
structed per diem to carry the army 
over the lakes, 50; in charge of 
Major Wood at Three River.-», 73; 
removed by Major Wood after the 
brittle of Three Rivers, 76; Amer- 
ican troops drag boats up the Sorel 
river, 83; scarcity of, 88; Schuyler 
orders, to be sent to the relief of 
the retreating army, 96 ; transpor- 
tation of sick in, from St. Johns, 
88 ; from Isle aux Noix, 94 ; from 
Crown Point, 105; reinforcements 
of militia carried from Skenesbor- 
ough to Ticonderoga in, 130 ; 
distributed among British troops, 
158. 

Bond, William, regiment of, sent to 
Canada, 37 ; part of regiment of, at 
Berthier, 81; regiment of, retreats 
from Canada, 111; death of, 115; 
regiment of, leaves Ticonderoga, 
190 ; at Morristown, 190. 

BONFIELD, ACKLAM, 50. 



Boom thrown across Lake Champlain, 
175. 

Boston, gondola, forms part of the fleet 
on Lake Champlain, 142. 

Bounty offered to troops for enlist- 
ment in Northern army, 129. 

Bouquet, Colonel Henry, 9. 

Brant, Joseph, commands Indians 
at the Cedars, 55. 

Bread, fresh, furnished to army at 
Ticonderoga, 116. 

Brewer, Colonel Samuel, regiment 
of, marches from Boston to Ticon- 
deroga, 136 ; troops under, cut down 
trees on the Crown Point road, 175 ; 
regiment of, marches for home, 191. 

Brey'MAN, Lieutenant-Colonel of 
Hessian troops, 84. 

Brickett, General James, com- 
mands brigade of Massachusetts 
militia at Ticonderoga, 135 ; bio- 
graphical sketch of, 135; brigade 
of, repairs old Erench redoubts, 177. 

Bridge over Little river burned, 89 ; 
built over Otter creek at Rutland, 
131 ; floating bridge built between 
Ticonderoga and Mount Indepen- 
dence, 176. 

Brigades, army at Ticonderoga di- 
vided into. 111. 

Brown, Lieutenant-Colone\ member 
of council of war at Quebec, 42 ; at 
Deschambault, 47. 

Brownson, Colonel, New England 
regiment of militia under, reaches 
Ticonderoga, 179. 

Brunel, Captain, commands British 
frigate Blonde, 85 

Brunswick, Duke of, sends troops to 
America, 84. 

Brunswick troops, 157, 158, 159; at 
Three Rivers, 74 ; arrive at Que- 
bec, 84, 157 ; garrison Quebec, 85 ; 
march to St. Johns, 87 ; at SC. 
Johns and La Prairie, 144, 1 45. 

Buel, Lieutenant-Colonel, member 
of council of war at Deschambault, 
47. 

Bull, Colonel John, 8 ; 

Burgoyne, Lieutenant -General, 
John, in command of British 
troops at Three Rivers, 74 ; sails 
from Spithead, 85 ; ascends the 
Sorel river, 87 ; copy of Declaration 
of Independence sent to, 118; quar- 
ters at Chamblee, 144 ; moves up to 
Isle aux Noix, 158 ; embarks on 



214 



INDEX. 



Lake Cliamplain, 159 ; advocates 
attack upon Ticonderoga, 191 ; re- 
turns to England, 194; is in great 
disfavor with the Government on 
account of tlie retreat, 194 ; bio- 
graphical sketch of, 194 ; portrait 
of, 194; is refused an audience of 
the King, 195. 

Burr, Aaron, 44. 

BuRRELL, Charles, Colonel of a 
regiment furnished by Connecticut 
at the call of Washington to rein- 
force the army in Canada, 20; 
reaches the lakes with his regiment, 
36 ; reinforces General Thomas at 
Deschambauit with part of his regi- 
ment, 47 ; member of council of Avar 
at Deschambauit. 47; part of regi- 
ment of, at Berthier, 81 ; regiment 
of, retreats from Canada, 111 , is 
sent home sick, 115 ; regiment of, 
forms part of the permanent garri- 
son of Ticonderoga, 188. 

BuTTERFiELD, IsAAC, left in Com- 
mand of tlie post at the Cedars, 55; 
surrenders the post, 57 ; is court- 
martialed and cashiered, 57. 

Button Mould Bay, American fleet 
arrives at, 144 ; galley Congress, 
and gondolas burned at, 169. 

Camp laid out in the French lines, 
109; onMount Independence, 113. 

Campbell, Colonel, member of coun- 
cil of war at Quebec, 42; at Des- 
chambauit, 47. 

Canada, solicitude for the situation 
of afl^airs in, 16; Schuyler sent to oc- 
cupy, 16; New Hampshire, Mas- 
sacimsetts, and Connecticut furnish 
one regiment each to reinforce the 
the army in, at the call of Wash- 
ington, 20 ; journey to, 21 ; main 
highway into, 24; Congress sends a 
committee to, 33 ; clergy of, hos- 
tile to American cause, 33 ; rein- 
forcements for army in, 19, 35, 38, 
39. 

Canadians, disposed to be neutral, 
16; party of, assemble for the re- 
lief of Quebec, 31 ; feeling of, to- 
ward the American cause, 38; 
Carleton compels those who ac- 
cepted commissions from Congress 
to burn them in public, 156 ; Carle- 
ton confiscates estates of those who 
followed the American army, 156 ; 



those who had sympathized with 
the American cause compelled to 
do penance, 156 ; land on Three- 
Mile Point, 185. 

Captain, pay of, 8. 

Carillon, old fort Ticonderoga orig- 
inally called, 108. 

Carleton, Sir Guy, appointed com- 
mander of the British forces in 
Canada, 16; his escape from Mon- 
treal, 17 ; merciful proclamation 
by, 45 ; biographical sketch of, 46 ; 
address by, to the prisoners, 46 ; at 
Three Rivers, 75 ; establishes his 
headquarters at Chamblee, 87 ; por- 
trait of, 112 ; reply of, to dispatches 
from Congress, 119; subsequent 
order to his troops, 120 ; head- 
quarters at Chamblee, 144 ; com- 
missions Sir John Johnson to raise 
two battalions, 147 ; forms an alli- 
ance with the Caughnawaga and St. 
Francis Indians, 156; compels Ca- 
nadians to burn commissions from 
Congress, 156 ; confiscates estates of 
Canadians who followed the Amer- 
ican army, 156 ; in command of 
British fleet, 165 ; receives slight 
wound, 170; releases General 
Waterbury, and the crew of the 
galley Washington, 171 ; transfers 
his headquarters from the schooner 
Maria to Crown Point, 181 ; re- 
leases American prisoners, 182 ; 
goes to his winter residence at Que- 
bec, 191 ; despatch sent to, by Lord 
George Germain, 192 ; in great dis- 
favor with the Government on ac- 
count of the retreat, 194. 

Carleton, Lieutenant-Colonel, in 
command of Indians, 167 ; body of 
Indians under, land on Yalcour 
island, 165. 

Carleton, British schooner, 162, 163, 
165, 166, 168, 170. 

Carleton's British regiment, 86, 
119. 

Carpenters sent to Skenesborough, 
112; prostration of, 151. 

Carroll, Charles, of Carrollton, 
member of the committee sent by 
Congress to Canada, 33. 

Carroll, Eev. John, accompanies 
the committee of Congress to Can- 
ada, 33 ; returns home, 34. 

Cartridge-boxes, manufacture of, at 
Bedford, 4. 



INDEX. 



215 



Cartridge-paper, General Gates 
calls upon Congress for, 125 ; sup- 
ply of, reaches Ticonderoga, 126. 

Cavendish's, Lord, British regiment, 
86. 

Cedars, American troops sent to, 54 ; 
reinforcements sent to, 55; invested 
by British troops under Captain 
Forster, 56 ; surrender of, by But- 
terfield, 57 ; barbarous treatment of 
the prisoners, 59 ; remonstrance of 
Congress, 118; answer of Sir Guy 
Carleton thereto, 119. 

Chamblee, death of General Thomas 
at, 53; desertions from, 82; retreat- 
ing army arrives at, 83; General 
Carleton establishes his headquar- 
ters at, 87 ; American troops retreat 
from, 88; headquarters of General 
Carleton at, 144 ; road from, to Isle 
aux Noix repaired by the British, 
156 , British vessels and bateaux 
constructed at, 161. 

Chase, Samuel, member of com- 
mittee sent by Congress to Canada, 
33. 

Chase, Colonel, New England re- 
giment of militia under, reaches 
Ticonderoga, 179. 

Chills and fever on Lake Cham- 
plain, 115. 

Chimney Point, Arnold and party 
arrive at, 170 ; British army occu- 
pies, 173. 

Christ Church, 14. 

Church, Captain Thomas, company 
of, sent to Canada, 39 ; scout under, 
returns to Ticonderoga from Crown 
Point, 160. 

Clergy of Pennsylvania preach to 
Assoclators, 2; of Canada hostile to 
American cause, 33. 

Clinton, Sir Henry, arrives at New 
York city, 23. 

Clothing, scarcity of, on board the 
fleet, 148 ; army at Ticonderoga in 
need of, 152; sent by Congress to 
Ticonderoga, 152. 

Clymer, George, member of com- 
mittee of Congress to visit North- 
ern army, 106; comments on con- 
dition of sick at Fort George, 1 06 ; 

Command of Northern army, 34; 
disputed between Generals Schuy- 
ler and Gates, 99 ; Congress settles 
in favor of General Schuyler, 100. 

Commission before the Declaration of 



Independence, 208; after the De- 
claration of Independence, 209. 

Commissioners of Congress sent to 
Canada, 33; believe retreat to St. 
Johns and Isle aux Noix inevitable, 
48 ; order the First Pennsylvania 
Eegiment to reinforce General Ar- 
nold, 60. 

Concord and Lexington, the courier 
who brought the news of the con- 
flict at, 1 ; his arrival at Philadel- 
phia, 1 ; the uprising throughout 
the country after the battle of, 1 ; 
spread of news from, throughout 
the province of Pennsylvania, 2. 

Congress appoints a committee to 
examine the papers of Major Skene, 
4 ; resolves to raise a regular army, 
5 ; orders Pennsylvania regiments 
to be raised, 5, 6 ; appoints ofiBcers 
for the li'irst Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment,8 ; orders Pennsylvania troops 
to Virginia, 14; anxiety of, for the 
co-operation of Canada, 16 ; Schuy- 
ler urges, to send reinforcements to 
Canada, 17 ; sends Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey troops to Canada, 
18; approves of Washington's course 
in sending troops to Canada, 20 ; 
sends a committee to Canada, 33 ; 
Northern army under direction of, 
34; General Charles Lee ordered 
by, to command of army in Canada, 
34 ; order revoked, and General 
John Thomas appointed, 35 ; St. 
Clair's regiment ordered by, to 
Canada, 36 ; Pennsylvania regi- 
ment of artillery raised by order of, 
36 ; orders six regiments to be sent 
from Washington's army to Canada, 
38 ; change in the policy of, toward 
Canada, 38 ; letters of committee 
of, to, 51 ; without credit in Canada, 
52; investigates the cruelties after 
the Cedars, 59 ; resolutions of, reach 
Sorel, 71 ; sends last penny of hard 
money to Canada, 71 ; resolves to 
reinforce the army in Canada witli 
militia and Indians, 72 ; is recon- 
ciled to the evacuation of Canada, 
90 ; committee of, inquires into the 
causes of the disasters in Canada, 
91 ; resolves of, concerning Canada 
transmitted to Washington, 98 ; 
appoints General Gates to the com- 
mand in Canada, 99 ; settles, dis- 
puted command between Generals 



216 



INDEX. 



Schuyler and Gates, 100; General 
Sullivan tenders his resignation to, 
104; is unwilling to accept Sulli- 
van's resignation, 105 ; committee 
of, report upon condition of sick at 
Fort George, 106 ; requests Gover- 
nor Cooke to send ship-carpenters 
to Skenesborough, 113; oflBcers at 
Ticonderoga remonstrate with, for 
want of mail facilities, 116; estab- 
lishes a general postal system, 117 ; 
sends Declaiation of Independence 
and remonstrance against the treat- 
ment of prisoners after the Cedars 
to Burgoyne, 118; General Gates 
calls upon, for ordnance and am- 
munition, 125 ; Arnold appeals 
from decision of court-martial to, 
127 ; Washington, by authority of, 
orders Continental regiments from 
Boston to Ticonderoga, 135 ; ap- 
points Reed and St. Clair Briga- 
dier-Generals, 138 ; sends cloth- 
ing to Ticonderoga, 152 ; money 
sent by, to General Schuyler, 154 ; 
solicitude of, for Northern armv, 
154. 

Congress, row galley, joins the Amer- 
ican fleet at Valcour Island, 150; 
Arnold has his quarters on, 150; 
engages in action with the British 
fleet, 164, 168 ; suffers severely, 165 ; 
council of war held on, 166 ; brings 
up the rear in the retreat of the 
fleet, 167 ; at Schuyler's Island, 167, 
burned, 169. 

Connecticut, regiment of, under Col- 
onel Burrell sent to Ticonderoga, 
20 ; troops of, join General Thomas 
at Desciiambault, 47 ; troops of, at 
Sore), 80 ; troops of, at Berthier, 81 ; 
troops of, retreat from Canada, 111 ; 
ship-carpenters from, sent to Skenes- 
borough, 113; measures taken in, 
for sending reinforcements to Ti- 
conderoga, 128 ; bounty offered in, 
for enlistments in Northern armv, 
129 ; Dr. John Ely sent by, to Ti- 
conderoga, 129; militia of, march 
by the way of Bennington to Skenes- 
borough, 130; regiments of militia 
under Colonels Heman Swift, and 
Samuel Mott arrive at Ticonderoga, 
134 ; Bnrrell's regiment of, forms 
part of the permanent gai-rison of 
Ticonderoga, 188; troops of, leave 
Ticonderoga, 190. 



Connecticut, gondola, forms part of 
the American fleet on Lake Cham- 
plain, 142. 

CoNNEK,Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel,, 
detachment under, sent down east- 
ern shore of Lake Chajnplain, 187. 

Cooke, Gov. Nicholas, of Ehode 
Island, sends ship-carpenters to Ti- 
conderoga, 113. 

CoRNWALLis, Lord, British army un- 
der reaches the Delaware, 189. 

Coryell's Ferry, British army ar- 
rives at, 189. 

Council of War held at Quebec, 42 ; 
at Desciiambault, 47 ; at St. Ann's, 
63 ; at Sorel, 82 ; at St. Johns, 89 ; 
at Crown Point, 102 ; on board the 
Congress, 166. 

Court-Martial, Bedel and Butter- 
field tried by, at Ticonderoga, 57 ; 
Colonel Poor president of, at Ticon- 
deroga, 126 ; requests arrest of Ar- 
nold, but is refused, 127 ; deserters 
and other oflfenders tried by, at Ti- 
conderoga, 140. 

Craig, Sir James H., troops under, 
capture a party of the Sixth Penn- 
sylvania ilegiment, 101 ; receives 
Major Bigelow bearing dispatches 
from Congress for General Bur- 
goyne, 119; bearer of flag of truce 
to Ticonderoga, 171. 

Crown Point, retreat of American 
army to, 96; distressing condition 
of American troops at, 97 ; mea- 
sures for the relief of the army at, 
98 ; council of war held at, 102 ; 
evacuation of, occasions alarm and 
dissatisfaction, 103 ; removal of sick 
from, to Fort George, 105 ; eflfective 
force at, 106 ; embarkation of troops 
from, 106, 110 ; garrison at, in May 
1775, 123 ; false report of action be- 
tween the fleets reaches, 146 ; rem- 
nant of American fleet at, 170 ; re- 
treat of the Sixth Pennsylvania 
Eegiment from, 171 ; British army 
occupies, 173;- trees cut down on 
road to, 175 ; Carleton transfers his 
headquarters to, 181 ; Major Gen- 
eral Eiedesel visits, 181 ; British 
troops evacuate, 187. 

CuLBERTSON, Lieutenant Joseph, 
massacred at Isle aux Noix, 95. 

Dacres, Lieutenant, commands Brit- 
ish schooner Carleton, 162. 



INDEX. 



217 



Dalrymple, Captain, commands 
British frigate Juno, 85. 

Davis, Benjamin, elected ca])tain of 
the First Pennsylvania Regiment, 
7 ; sketch of, 8; sent with his com- 
pany to join the forces against 
Three Rivers, 70 ; takes part in the 
battle of Three Rivers, 74. 

Davis, Captain, commands row-galley 
Lee, 145. 

Dayton, Colonel Elias, regiment of, 
sent to Canada, 39 ; reports Indians 
on the march for the Mohawk, 146 ; 
regiment of, marches to Ticonde- 
roga, 178. 

De Haas, John Philip, appointed 
Colonel of the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment, 9 ; biographical sketch 
of, 9 ; reaches the lakes with part 
of his regiment, 36 ; sent by the 
Commissioners of Congress to rein- 
force General Arnold after the ailair 
at the Cedars, 60 ; pursues Forster's 
party, 61 ; opposes Arnold's plan 
for attacking the Indians, 63 ; re- 
fuses to burn the Indian town of 
Canassadaga, 65 ; leaves Montreal 
for Sorei, 68 ; regiment of, at Sorel, 
80 ; regiment of, retreats from Can- 
ada, 110; letter from, upon the 
condition of the troops under his 
command, 153 ; time of enlistment 
of regiment of, expires, 155 ; regi- 
ment of, unanimously re>olves to 
remain at Ticonderoga, 155; com- 
mendation by, of his officers, 190. 

De Hart, Major William, in com- 
mand of a detachment of Third 
New Jersey Regiment that resolved 
to stay at Ticonderoga after their 
term of enlistment had expired, 
156. 

Deschambaxjlt, stand of Americans 
at, 47 ; council of war held at, 47 ; 
Connecticut troops at, inoculate 
themselves, 48 ; evacuation of, 48 ; 
a skirmish below, 49. 

Deserters, trial of, at Ticonderoga, 
140. 

Desertions, 26, 82. 

DeWoedtke, Frederick William, 
Baron, at St Johns, 66; death of, 110. 

Dickenson, Captain, commands sloop 
Enterprise, 142. 

Divine Service at Christ Church, 
14 ; ordered to be held in every 
brigade at Ticonderoga, 139. 



DoRSEY, Thomas, appointed Captain 
of the First Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, 5 ; sketch of, 8 ; movements 
of company of, 21, 23. 

Douglas, Ciiptain, commands British 
ship Isis, 161. 

DuNLOP, Major James, in command 
of detachment of Sixth Pennsylva- 
nia Regiment., 187. 

DuNMORE, Lord, movements of, in 
Virginia, 13. 

Dutchess County, New York,militia 
of, called out, 146. 

DuQUESNE, Fort, expedition against, 
9. 

Edward, Fort, First Pennsylvania 
regiment arrive at, 25 ; militia 
from, ordered into Tryon county, 
178. 

Ehrenkrook, Lieutenant-Colonel in 
command of Hessian troops, 157. 

Elmore, Colonel, member of council 
of war at Quebec, 42 ; at Descham- 
bault, 47 ; regiment of, stationed on 
the Mohawk river, 147. 

Elphinstone's British regiment, 86. 

Ely, Dr. John, sent by Connecticut 
council of safety to Ticonderoga, 
129. 

Engineers sent from New York, 38. 

Enterprise, sloop, 170 ; forms part 
of the American fleet on Lake 
Champlain, 142 ; captured by Gen- 
eral Arnold from tlie British in 
May, 1775, 142 ; boat's crew of, at- 
tacked, 145. 

Epitaph of Pennsylvania troops mas- 
sacred at Isle aux Noix, 96. 

Equipment of the Pennsylvania regi- 
ments, 12. 

EusTis, Captain, artillery company 
of, at Three Rivers, 49, 71 ; com- 
pany of, retreats from Canada, 111. 

Evelyn's British regiment, 86. 

Exmouth, Viscount, 167. 

Fay, Lieutenant, in command of 
He?se-Hanau artillery, 166. 

Fellinq-Axes sent to Ticonderoga, 
113. 

Ferguson, Captain, 74. 

Fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, 
organization of, for Continental 
army, 6 ; sent to New York, 39. 

Fifty-third British regiment, 86. 

Fifty-ninth British regiment, 158. 



218 



INDEX. 



Fire-ships constructed at Quebec, 40. 

FiBST New Jersey Eegiment, or- 
dered to Canada, 39 ; sent to Three 
Kivers, 71 ; retreats from Canada, 
110 ; transferred to Pennsylvania 
brigade 137; enlistment of, expires, 
155 ; greater part of, refuses to re- 
main, 155; march for tlieir liomes, 
188. 

First Pennsylvania Eegiment, 
called out by Congress, 5 ; Captains 
of, 5 ; field officers of, appointed, 8, 
9 ; three companies of, ordered to 
Virginia, 14; order revoked, 18; 
ordered to Canada, 18 ; route of, to 
the Hudson, 21 ; transported on 
sleds to Albany, 22 ; up the Hud- 
eon, 25 ; portion of, reach Quebec, 
29 ; rifle company of John JS^elson 
attached to, 36 ; engaged in skir- 
mish at Deschambault, 49 ; sent 
by commissioners of Congress to 
reinforce General Arnold after the 
afikir at the Cedars, 60 ; reach 
Fort St. Ann, 61 ; embark in pur- 
suit of Forster's party, 61 ; fallback 
to LaChine, 65 ; General Thomp- 
son waits impatiently for return of, 
to Sorel, 68 ; officers and men of, 
prostrated at Isle aux Noix, 93 ; ar- 
rives at Ticonderoga, 106 ; condi- 
tion of, described by Colonel De- 
Haas, 153 ; enlistment of, expires, 
155 ; unanimously resolve to re- 
main at Ticonderoga, 155 ; Captain 
Jonathan Jones apiminted Major 
of, 180 ; Major Anthony James 
Morris appointed Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel of, 180 ; embark for tlieir 
homes, 188 ; march to Pluckamin 
in New Jersey, 189; ofiicers of, 199. 

Fleet, American, ship-carpenteis 
sent up from the seaboard to Skenes- 
borough to construct, 112 ; progress 
in construction of, 141 ; General 
Arnold assigned to the command 
of, 141 ; General David Waterbury 
appointed second officer of, 141 ; 
Pennsylvania troops drafted to serve 
as seamen and marines on board 
of, 142 ; portion of, sails down to 
Crown Point, 142 ; vessels of, re- 
ceive their armament at Ticon- 
deroga, 142; sails from Crown 
Point, 143 ; anchors at Willsbo- 
rough, 143; returns to Button 
Mould Bay, 144 ; reaches Schuy- 



ler's Island, 144 ; reaches Wind- 
mill Point, 144 ; guard-boats of, 
posted below Windmill Point, 
145; row-galley Lee joins the, 
at Windmill Point, 145; boat's 
crew from, attacked, 145 ; opens 
a cannonade on the woods, 146 ; 
false alarm of action occasioned by, 
146 ; anchors at Isle la Motte, 148 ; 
sickness on board of, 148 ; gondola 
Philadelphia joins the, at Isle la 
Motte, 148; arrives at bay St. 
Amand, 149 ; is overtaken there by 
an equinoctial gale, 149 ; anchors 
behind Valcour Island, 150 ; roAV- 
galleys Trumbull, Congress, and 
Washington join the, at Valcour 
Island, 150 ; divided into three di- 
visions, 151 ; reception of news of 
action between American and Brit- 
ish fleets at Ticonderoga, 159, 160; 
arrival of remnant of, at Ticonde- 
roga, 160 ; action between Ameri- 
can and British fleets, 164; skillful 
retreat of, 167 ; remnant of, at Crown 
Point, 170. 

Fleet, British, construction of, 161 ; 
composition of, 162 ; commanded 
by Captain Thomas Pringle, 163 ; 
comes to anchor below Isle la 
Motte, 163 ; anchors between Long 
and Grand Islands, 164; action be- 
tween British and American fleets, 
164 ; movements of, supervised by 
Sir Guy Carleton, 105 ; anchors off 
Crown Point, 173 ; retreats down 
the lake to St. Johns, 187. 

Floating Bridge built between Ti- 
conderoga and Mount Independ- 
ence, 176. 

Forbes, General John, expedition 
under, against Fort Duquesne, 9. 

FoRSTER, Captain George, com- 
mands British forces at the Cedars, 
55 ; Butterfield surrenders the post 
to, 57; enters into a cartel with 
General Arnold, 64 ; retreats above 
the Cedars, 65. 

Forty-seventh British Regiment, 
86, 101, 119, 158, 171. 

Fourth Pennsylvania Eegiment, 
organization of, for Continental 
army, 6 ; sent to Canada, 39 ; at 
battle of Three Rivers, 73 ; arrives 
at Ticonderoga, 106 ; forms part of 
the permanent garrison of Ticonde- 
roga, 188 ; officers of, 202. 



INDEX. 



219 



Franklin, Benjamin, member of 
the committee sent by Congress to 
Canada, 33 ; his arrival at Mon- 
treal and return home, 34. 

Fraser, General Simon, in command 
of British forces at Three Rivers, 
74, 86 ; occupies Isle aux Noix, 
144 ; advances to the river Colte, 
157 ; embarks on Lake Cham- 
plain, 159 ; van brigade under, ad- 
vances to Putnam's Point, 181 ; 
biographical sketch of, 181. 

Fraser, Captain, body of Indians 
and Canadians under, advance up 
the west shore of Lake Champlain, 
165. 

Frazer, Captain Persifor, arrives 
with his company at Ticonderoga, 
107. 

French Lines, Pennsylvania troops 
arrive at, 25 ; original construction 
of, 109 ; Pennsylvania regiments 
encamped within, 109 ; description 
of fortifications about, 137; Captain 
Romans' company of artillery en- 
camped within, 137; artillery com- 
panies under Captain Ebenezer Ste- 
vens encamped within, 137. 

Gansevoort, Colonel Peter, in com- 
mand at Fort George, 111. 

Gates, General Horatio, appointed 
to command of the army in Can- 
ada, 99 ; disputes command of Gen- 
eral Schuyler, 100 ; General Sulli- 
van takes offense at the appoint- 
ment of, 104 ; returns to Ticonde- 
roga, 106 ; calls upon Congress for 
ordnance and ammunition, 125 ; re- 
pairs roads from Number Four to 
Skenesborough, 130; complains of 
inoculation, 133 ; portrait of, 140 ; 
causes the arrest of Captain Wyn- 
koop, 143; issues order to his 
troops, 146, 159, 173 ; desires all 
available militia to be sent to Fort 
George and Skenesborough, 147 ; 
directs the fleet to be divided into 
three divisions, 151; money taken 
by, to General Schuyler, 154 ; com- 
mends conduct of troops at Ticon- 
deroga, 184, 186; sends Colonel 
Wigglesworth to ascertain the de- 
signs of the British, 188; leaves 
Ticonderoga, 190. 

George, Fort, troops at, 25, 36 ; 
hospital established at, 105 ; Van 



Schaick's and Van Dyke's regi- 
ments stationed at, 111 ; comments 
of Richard Stockton and George 
Clymer on condition of sick at, 
106; fears that Indians might come 
in by 146 ; wounded in naval action 
sent to hospital at, 170. 

German Flats, Schuyler makes 
treaty with Indians at, 72. 

Germain, Lord George sends dis- 
patch to General Carleton, 192; is 
greatly displeased at the news of 
the retreat of the British army, 
194. 

Gordon, Brigadier General, killed by 
Lieutenant Whitcomb, 102; brig- 
ade of, encamped on the road from 
St. Johns to La Prairie, 145. 

Grant, Captain, commands gondola, 
Connecticut, 142. 

Greaton, John, regiment of, sent to 
Canada, 37 ; regiment of, in the 
hospital at St. Johns, 81 ; regiment 
of, retreats from Canada, 111 ; sick- 
ness of, 1 15 ; biographical sketch 
of, 115 ; commands the first brig- 
ade on Mount Independence, 142; 
regiment of, ordered from Mount 
Independence to Ticonderoga, 185; 
regiment of, leaves Ticonderoga, 
190 ; at Morristown, 190. 

Greene, Captain Ebed, sent to Que- 
bec as hostage for the prisoners 
taken at the Cedars, 64. 

Grenadiers, British, 87, 144, 157, 
181, 186. 

Grier, David, promoted to Major 
of Sixth Pennsvlvania regiment, 
180. 

Grier, Lieutenant John, captured 
by the British, 101. 

Grimes, Captain, commands gondola 
Jersey, 145. 

Gunpowder, manufacture of, 4, 125. 

Hadley, Massachusetts troops return 
home by way of, 191. 

Hale, Colonel, New England regi- 
ment of militia under, reaches Ti- 
conderoga, 179. 

Han ATI Regiment, 85, 87, 158. 

Harmar, Josiah, appointed Captain 
of the First Pennsylvania regiment, 
5 ; sketch of, 7 ; reaches the lakes 
with his company, 36. 

Hartley, Thomas, appointed Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the Sixth Penn- 



220 



INDEX. 



sylvania regiment, 6 ; takes part in 
the battle of Three Elvers, 73; 
comments on battle of Three 
Rivers, 77 ; is sent to reconnoitre 
the enemy, 100 ; stationed at Crown 
Point with the Sixth Pennsylvania 
regiment as the outpost of the army, 
107; arrives at Ticonderoga with 
the Sixth Pennsylvania regiment 
from Crown Point, 160, 171 ; bio- 
grapliical sketch of, 170. 

Harvey, Surgeon, 177. 

Hawlev, Captain, commands schoon- 
er Eoyal Savage, 143. 

Hazen, Colonel Moses, opposes Ar- 
nold's plan for attacking the In- 
dian.s, 63 ; tried by court-martial 
at Ticonderoga, 126. 

Heath, William, appointed Briga- 
dier-General, 5. 

Heights of Abraham, battery open- 
ed upon, 31. 

Henry, Fort, 9. 

Herrick, Captain, captures schooner 
Liberty at Skenesborough in May 
1875, 142. 

Hesse-Hanau Artillery, 156, 159, 
163, 166, 170, 181. 

Hessian troops, 157, 158, 159; ar- 
rive at Quebec, 85, 156 ; march to 
St. Johns, 87 ; at St. Johns and La 
Prairie, 144, 145. 

HoGE, Lieutenant John, made pris- 
oner at Isle aux Noix, 95. 

Holmes, Surgeon, 177. 

Hospital, opened at Montreal, 50 ; 
at Lake George, 105 ; removal of 
sick from Crown Point to, 105; 
comments of Richard Stockton and 
George Clymer thereon, 106; con- 
dition of the sick at, 106; sick sol- 
diers from the fleet sent to, 148 ; 
wounded in naval action sent to, 
170. 

Howe, Lord, British ship, 163. 

Howe, Sir William, waits anxiously 
to hear of British success in Canada, 
156 ; British army under, reaches 
the Delaware, 189. 

Hudson, river, free from ice, 38. 

Hughes, Lieutenant Peter, of the 
First Pennsylvania, defeats and dis- 
perses a party under Mr. Beaujeu, 
31. 

Hyde, Colonel New England regi- 
ment of militia under, reaches Ti- 
conderoga, 179. 



Independence, Declaration of, 
received at Ticonderoga, 118 ; copy 
of, sent to General Burgoyne, 118 ; 
answer of Sir Guy Carleton there- 
to, 119 ; copy of commission be- 
fore, 208; copy of commission af- 
ter 209. 

Indians, 16, 54, 60, 87, 101, 128, 145, 
169, 174, 182 ; expedition against 
the Delawares.Wyandots, and Shaw- 
nees, 9 ; Mohawks, and Caughua- 
wagas at tlie Cedars, 55 ; party of, 
defeat Sherburne's men near the 
Cedars, 58 ; cruel and barbarous 
treatment of American troops by, 
59 ; council of, 64 ; Indian town of 
Canassadaga ordered to be burned, 
65 ; employment of, in the Ameri- 
can military service, 72 ; treaty 
with, at German Flats, 72 ; body 
of, at Three Rivers, 74, 86 ; massa- 
cre by, of Americans at Isle aux 
Noix, 95 ; Indian path to Point 
au Fer, 96 ; company of Mohican, 
at Ticonderoga, 136 ; reported on 
the march to the Mohawk river, 
146 ; pursue the fleet up the shore 
of Lake Champlain, 149 ; Carleton 
forms an alliance with Caughna- 
waga, and St. Francis, at Montreal, 
156 ; force of, under Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Carleton, 157; body of, ascend 
Lake Champlain and land on Val- 
cour Island, 165 ; ambush the bri- 
dle-path to Crown Point, 170; land 
on Three-Mile-Point, 185; at Put- 
nam's Point, 186. 

Inflexible, British ship, 162, 163, 
164, IGS. 

Inoculation, prohibited, 29; Con- 
necticut troops inoculate them- 
selves at Deschambault, 48; Gen- 
eral Tliomas complains of, 53 ; pro- 
gress of reinforcements retarded 
by, 131 ; militia undergo, at Num- 
ber Four,Williamstown, Keene, and 
Claremonl, 131 ; general-order re- 
specting, 132 ; General Gates com- 
plains of, 133. 

Irvine, James, appointed Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel of the First Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment, 8 ; biographical 
sketch of, 10; member of council 
of war at Quebec, 42 ; at Descham- 
bault, 47 ; ])romoted to Colonel of 
tlie Ninth Pennsvlvania Regiment, 
180. ' . 



INDEX. 



221 



Irvine, William, appointed Colonel 
of the Sixth Pennsylvania Kegi- 
ment, 6 ; biographical sketch of, 6 ; 
regiment of, sent to Canada, 39 ; 
takes part in the battle of Three 
Rivers, 73 ; taken prisoner at Three 
Kivers, 76 ; regiment of, at Sorel, 
80 ; regiment of, retreats from 
Canada, 110; regiment of, forms 
part of permanent garrison of Ti- 
conderoga, 188. 

Isis, British frigate, arrives at Quebec, 
43,161. 

Isle aux Noix, retreat to, inevitable, 
48 ; sick sent to, 88 ; retreating 
American army arrives at, 89 ; col- 
onial troops on, 92 ; sickness on 
93 ; burial of the dead on, 93 ; re- 
moval of the sick from, to Crown 
Point, 94; troops of the Sixth 
Pennsylvania Regiment massacred 
at, 95 ; their burial, 95 ; retreat of 
American army from, 96 ; General 
Fraser occupies, 144 ; British works 
erected on, 144 ; cannon sent to be 
mounted on, 145 ; twentieth and 
sixty-second British regiments left 
on, 159; road from C'hamblee to, re- 
paired by the British, 166; Colonel 
Wigglesworth sent to, to ascertain 
designs of the enemy, 188. 

Isle aux Tete, British outpost on, 
144. 

Isle la Motte, retreat of American 
army to, 96; American fleet an- 
chors at, 148 ; Arnold stations sen- 
tinels on, 150. 

Jailer, British frigate, arrives at 
Quebec with gun-boats, 161. 

Jay, John, letter from, about the fire- 
ship at Quebec, 41. 

Jenkins, William, appointed Cap- 
tain of the First Pennsylvania Reg- 
iment, 5 ; sketch of, 8. 

Jersey, gondola, Joins the fleet at 
Windmill Point, 145. 

Johnson Hall, 147. 

Johnson, Sir John, reported to be 
on the march to the Mohawk river, 
147 ; commissioned to raise two 
battalions by Sir Guy Carleton, 147. 

Johnston, Surgeon Robert, 177. 

Jones' British regiment, 86. 

Jones, Jonathan, biographical 
sketch of, v. ; organization of a com- 
pany of associators by, 2; ap- 



pointed Captain of the First Penn- 
sylvania Regiment, 5 ; ordered, 
with his company, to Northampton 
county, Virginia, 14 ; order re- 
voked, 18 ; marches, with his com- 
pany, for Canada, 21 ; arrives at 
Quebec, 29 ; returns to Quebec for 
valuable papers after the retreat, 
45 ; a murder in the company of, 
47; sent with his company to join 
the forces against Three Rivers, 70 ; 
takes part in the battle of Three 
Rivers, 74 ; letter from, to Major 
Morgan, 139; promoted to major, 
180. 
Juno, frigate, convoys British fleet 
from Spithead, 85. 

Kennedy, Surgeon Samuel, 177. 

Knox, Henry, two companies of his 
regiment of artillery sent to Can- 
ada, 36 ; is sent by Washington to 
Ticonderoga for ordnance, 123. 

Lacey, Captain John, company of, 
sent to Canada, 39 ; bearer of dis- 
patches from Sullivan to Arnold, 69. 

Lamar, Marien, appointed Captain 
of the First Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, 5 ; sketch of, 8 ; reaches the 
lakes with his company, 36. 

La Prairie, First Pennsylvania 
Regiment marches to, 27 ; British 
army marches by way of, 87 ; Gen- 
eral Arnold retreats by way of, 89 ; 
German troops under General 
Riedesel at, 145. 

Lee, General Charles, appointed 
Major-Genera 1, 5 ; comments on ap- 
pearance of Pennsylvania troops, 
21 ; sent by Washington to New 
York, 23; appointed to the com- 
mand of the army in Canada, 34 ; 
the order revoked, and he is sent to 
command the Southern depart- 
ment, 35 ; comments on removal of 
ordnance from Ticonderoga, 124; 
captured at Basldngridge, 190 ; 
division of, under Sullivan, joins 
Washington's army above Trenton 
Falls, 190. 

Lee, row-galley, joins the fleet at 
Windmill Point, 145. 

Le Maitre, Captain, bearer of dis- 
patches, 192. 

Levi, Point, erection of batteries on, 
31. 



222 



INDEX. 



Lewis, Morgan, Quarter-Master- 
General, 99. 

Lexington and Concord, the cou- 
rier who brought the news of the 
conflict at, 1 ; liis arrival at Phila- 
delijliia, 1 ; the uprising through- 
out the colonies after the battle of, 
1 ; spread of news from, throughout 
the Province of Pennsylvania, 2. 

Liberty, schooner, 150, 167, 170; 
forms part of the American fleet on 
Lake Champlain, 142 ; captured at 

• Skenesborough by Captain Herrick, 
in May, 1775, 142; ordered down 
the lake, 143 ; brought to by shot 
from the Royal Savage, 143. 

Light Infantry, British, 87, 101, 
144, 157, 181, 186. 

Ligonier's, British regiment, 86. 

Lindsay, Captain, commands Brit- 
ish ship Surprise, 43. 

LiviNG>TON, Colonel, member of 
council of war at Deschambault, 
47. 

LocKWOOD, Major, member of coun- 
cil of war at Quebec, 42. 

LoNGCROFT, Lieutenant, commands 
British gondola Loyal Convert, 
162. 

Loyal Convert, British gondola, 
162, 163. 

LuxDY, Mr., accompanies Major 
Skene to Philadelphia, 4. 

LusK, Ensign William, attacked by 
Indians, at Isle aux Noix, 95. 

Maclean, Colonel, returns to Lon- 
don, 146. 

Maclean's Royal Highland Emi- 
grants, 43, 86 ; rejiorted to be on 
the March to the Mohawk river, 
146. 

Magaw, Robert, appointed Colonel 
of the Fifth Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, 6 ; regiment of, sent to New 
York, 39. 

Mail facilities, want of, at Ticonde- 
roga, 116. 

Mansfield, Captain Samuel, com- 
mands gondola New Haven, 142. 

Maria, British schooner, 162, 163, 
164, 165, 168, 173, 181. 

Marines, 142. 163. 

Market, established at Ticonderoga, 
116. 

Martin, sloop, arrives at Quebec, 43, 
sails up the St. Lawrence, 45. 



Massachusetts, hostilities begun in, 
16; regiment of, under Colonel 
Porter, sent to Ticonderoga, 20; 
troops of, at Sorel, 80 ; troops of, 
retreat from Canada, 111 ; encamped 
on Mount Independence, 112; ship- 
carpenters from, sent to Skenes- 
borough, 113; provides weekly post- 
rider from Watertown to Ticonde- 
roga, 116: attack on Whitcomb's 
regiment of Massachusetts troops at 
Ticonderoga, 122 ; measures taken 
in, for sending reinforcements to Ti- 
conderoga, 128 ; bounty oflisred in, 
for enlistment in Northern army, 
129 ; militia of, march to Springfield 
and up the valley of the Connecticut 
river, 130; militia of, brought abun- 
dance of tents and camp utensils 
with them, 131 ; regiments of militia 
under Colonel Edward "Wiggles- 
worth, Colonel Jonathan Read, Col- 
onel Moses Wheelock, and Colonel 
Ruggles Woodbridge, arrive at Ti- 
conderoga, 134; redoubts of militia 
of, in incomplete state, 174; Whit- 
comb's regiment of, forms part of 
the permanent garrison of Ticonde- 
roga, 188 ; troops of, march for their 
homes, 191. 

Materials of war, confisc:\tion of, 
at Philadelphia, 4. 

Maxwell, Colonel William, bio- 
graphical sketcli of, 18; is ordered 
with his regiment to Canada, 18 ; 
part of regiment of, reaches the lakes, 
36 ; member of council of war at 
Quebec, 42; at Deschambault, 47 ; 
posted at Jacques Cartier, 49; left 
to guard the sick at Three Rivers, 
49 ; abandons Three Rivers, 50 ; is 
sent back from Sorel against Three 
Rivers, 66; takes part in the battle 
of Three Rivers, 73; regiment of, 
at Sorel, 80 ; regiment of, retreats 
from Canada, 110; enlistment of 
regiment of, expires, 155 ; resolves 
to remain, 155 ; regiment of, trans- 
ferred to Pennsylvania brigade, 
176; leaves Ticonderoga, 188; in 
command at Morristown, 190. 

McAlister, Lieutenant Abdiel, 
made prisoner at Isle aux Noix, 95. 

McCalla, Chaplain Daniel, taken 
prisoner at Three Rivers, 77. 

McClean, Captain Moses, taken 
prisoner at Isle aux Noix, 95. 



INDEX. 



223 



McCoy, Ensign, sent by General Ar- 
nold on scout duty into Canada, 145. 

McDonald, Archibald, wounded 
by savages, 146. 

McFerren, Lieutenant Samuel, 
taken prisoner at Isle aux Noix, 
95. 

Mease and Caldwell, supplies of 
clothing sent by, to the army at 
Ticonderoga, 152. 

Meyrick, Samuel J., Surgeon of 
American troops at Isle aux Noix, 
88. 

Militia, begin to rendezvous at Num- 
ber Four, 130; march over the 
Green Mountains toSkenesborough, 
130 ; Connecticut, march by the way 
of Bennington, 130 ; Massachusetts, 
brought tents and camp utensils 
Avith them, 131 ; sufTerings of, in 
the wilderness, 131 ; of Dutchess 
and Ulster counties New York, 
and of New England counties called 
out, 146; further call made upon, 
of Albany county, 147 ; of Tryon, 
Charlotte, Cumberland, Gloucester, 
and Albany counties called out, 
177 ; New England, march by the 
way of Skenesborough, 178 ; Al- 
bany, distributed at Forts Miller, 
Edward, and George, 178 ; New 
York, move reluctantly, 179; Wash- 
ington's opinion of, 179. 

Mohawk river, Indians reported 
on the march to the, 146 ; all de- 
signs upon, abandoned by the Brit- 
ish, 147 ; scouting parties thrown 
out to, 177 ; invasion of country 
about, rumored, 178. 

Mohican Indians, company of, at 
Ticonderoga, 136. 

MoNCKTON, General Egbert, battery 
of, 31. 

Moncrief, Lieutenant, accompanies 
Major Skene to Philadelphia, 4. 

Money, sent by (Congress to General 
Schuyler, 71, 154. 

Montgomery, Eichard, appointed 
brigadier-general, 5 ; command of 
expedition against Canada devolves 
upon, 17 ; urges the sending of rein- 
forcements into Canada, 17 ; death 
of, 18 ; intelligence of his death 
reaches Philadelphia, 18. 

Montreal, arrival of Pennsylvania 
troops at, 28 ; Commissioners of 
Congress arrive at, 34 ; General 



Thomas arrives at, 35 ; hospital es- 
tablished at, 50 ; First Pennsylva- 
nia Eegiment passes through, 60; 
Arnold retreats from, 89 ; goods 
seized by Arnold at, 89, 126 ; Carle- 
ton forms alliance with Indians at, 
156 ; British vessels and bateaux 
constructed at, 161. 

Moore, Captain James, arrives with 
his company at Ticonderoga, 107. 

Morgan, Major, letter from Captain 
Jonathan Jones to, 139. 

Morris, Anthony James, appointed 
Major of the First Pennsylvania 
Eegiment, 8 ; biographical sketch 
of, 1 1 ; member of council of war 
at Quebec, 42 ; at Deschambault, 47 ; 
urged for the Lieutenant-Colonelcy 
of the Second Pennsylvania Eegi- 
ment, 139 ; is aggrieved at the ap- 
pointment of Major Wood thereto, 
139 ; promoted to Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, ISO. 

Mott, Colonel Samuel, Connecticut 
regiment of militia under, arrives 
at Ticonderoga, 134 ; part of the 
regiment of, sent to the Mohawk, 
147 ; regiment of, leaves Ticonde- 
roga, 190. 

Mount Defiance, erection of mili- 
tary work on, recommended, 102. 

Mount Hope, military post estab- 
lished on, 175. 

Mount Independence, examined by 
Colonel Trumbull, 100; recom- 
mended as a military position, 102 ; 
New England brigades ordered to 
encamp on, 112 ; camp laid out on, 
113 ; batteries erected on, 114 ; sick- 
ness on, 115 ; slow progress of works 
on, 138 ; troops ordered from, to 
Ticonderoga, 186. 

Music at Ticonderoga, 114. 

Nelson, John, company of, attached 
to First Pennsylvania Eegiment, 
reaches the lakes, 36. 

Nesbitt, Brigadier-General, at Three 
Eivers, 75 ; lands at Sorel, 87 ; 
death of, 87. 

New England, sectional feeling be- 
tween troops of, and Southern 
troops, 121 ; militia of, called out, 
146. 

New Germantown, First Pennsyl- 
vania Eegiment marches to, 189 ; 
Lee's army under Sullivan at, 190, 



224 



INDEX. 



New Hampshire, regiment of, under 
Colonel Bedel, sent to Ticonderoga, 
20 ; troops of, at Cedars, 54 ; troops 
of, at Sorel and vicinity, 80 ; troops 
of, retreat from Canada, 111 ; en- 
camped on Mount Independence, 
112; mililia of, line the roads to 
towns on the Connecticut river, 130; 
regiments of militia of, under Colo- 
nels Wyman and Wingate, arrive 
at Ticonderoga, 134; troops of, leave 
Ticonderoga, 190. 

New Hampshire Grants, alarm of 
settlers on, at news of the retreat 
from Canada, 128 ; yeomanry of, 
sent to Ticonderoga, 178. 

New Haven, gondola, forms part of 
the American fleet on Lake Cham- 
plain, 142. 

New Jersey, Second Regiment of, 
ordered to Canada, 18 ; arrives at 
Quebec, 29 ; First and Third Regi- 
ments of, ordered to Canada, 39 ; 
troops of, at Jacques Cartier and 
Three Rivers, 49 ; retreat to Sorel, 
50 ; sent back from Sorel against 
Three Rivers, 66 ; retreat from 
Canada, 110; First Regiment of, 
transferred to Pennsylvania brig- 
ade, 137 ; enlistment of troops of, 
expire, 155 ; Second Regiment of, 
transferred to Pennsylvania brig- 
ade, 176 ; Third Regiment of forms 
part of the permanent garrison of 
Ticonderoga, 188 ; First and Sec- 
ond Regiments of, march for their 
homes, 188. 

New York, gondola, forms part of 
the American fleet on Lake Cham- 
plain, 142 ; loses all her officers 
except the captain, 166. 

Nicholson, Colonel, member of 
council of war at Quebec, 42 ; regi- 
ment of, stationed on the Mohawk 
river, 147. 

NicoiiET, American troops at, 67, 72. 

Ninth British regiment, 86, 158. 

North, Captain Caleb, arrives with 
his company at Ticonderoga, 107. 

Northampton coimty, Virginia, 
committee of, call upon Congress 
for aid, 13 ; three companies of the 
First Pennsylvania Regiment or- 
dered to, 14 ; order revoked, 18. 

Number Foitr, militia rendezvous at, 
130 ; New Hampshire troops return 

. home by, 190, 191. 



Oakum sent to Ticonderoga, 113. 

Carmakers, arrive at Crown Point, 
107, 

Oath required to be taken by 
soldiers infected with small-pox, 
132. 

Ogden, Lieutenant-Colonel Mat- 
thias, in command of First New 
Jersev Regiment at Ticonderoga, 
137. ' 

Ordnance, at Ticonderoga, 123 ; re- 
moval of, to Boston, 124. 

Ordnance stores at Ticonderoga, 
125. 

Organization, early modes of, in the 
colonies, 2. 

Owens, Robert, wounded by sav- 
ages, 146. 

Packer, Surgeon, 177. 

PaLLASIER, jVtoNSIEUR, 28. 

Parker's British regiment, 86. 

Patterson, John, regiment of, sent 
to Canada, 37 ; part of regiment of, 
sent to reinforce the Cedars, 55 ; 
biographical sketch of, 55 ; regi- 
ment of, at Montreal, 80 ; regiment 
of, retreats from Canada, 111 ; regi- 
ment of, leaves Ticonderoga, 190 ; 
joins Washington's army above 
Trenton Falls, 190. 

Pay of captain, 8. 

Pellew, Edward, 167. 

Pennsylvania, spread of news from 
Lexington and Concord through- 
out the province of, 2 ; formation 
of companies of associators in the 
difierent counties of, 2 ; manufac- 
ture of gunpowder in, 4, 125 ; troops 
of, in the Continental army, 5; six 
companies of riflemen under Colo- 
nel Thompson raised in, 5 ; organi- 
zation of the First Regiment of, 5 ; 
four additional regiments ordered 
to be raised in, 5 ; the Sixth Regi- 
ment ordered to be raised in, 6 ; 
the First, Second, Fourth and Sixth 
Regiments of, take an active part in 
the movements against Canada, 6 ; 
the Third and Fifth Regiments of, 
distinguish themselves at Fort 
Washington, 6 ; uniform of the 
troops of, 12 ; three companies of 
the First Regiment of, ordered to 
Virginia, 14 ; order revoked, 18 ; 
First Regiment of, ordered to 
Canada, 18 ; troops of, arrive at 



INDEX. 



225 



Albany, 22 ; mutiny among, 24 ; 
arrival of troops of, at Montreal, 
28 ; arrival of troops of, at Quebec, 
29 ; troops of, detained at the lakes, 
36 ; troops of, sent to Canada, 39 ; 
skirmish by troops of, at Descham- 
bault, 49; First Regiment of, or- 
dered to reinforce General Arnold, 
60 ; return of, to Sorel impatiently 
waited for, 68, 70 ; Captains Jones 
and Davis' companies sent against 
Three Ki vers, 70 ; troops of, at Three 
Elvers, 73; troops of, at Sorel, 80; 
troops of, massacred at Isle aux 
Noix, 95 ; party of Sixth Regi- 
ment of, sent to reconnoitre the en- 
emy, 100 ; First, Second and Fourth 
Regiments of, arrive at Ticonde- 
roga, 106 ; condition of, 106 ; brig- 
ade of Pennsylvania troops ordered 
to encamp in the French lines, 112; 
four regiments of, comprise more 
than half the effective force at 
Ticonderoga, 121 ; the elite of the 
army, 121 ; troops of, brigaded to- 
gether, 121 ; sectional animosity of 
troops of, at Ticonderoga toward 
their Eastern comrades, 121 ; at- 
tention paid to the cleanly appear- 
ance of troops of, at Ticonderoga, 
140 ; troops of, drafted to serve as 
seamen and marines on board the 
American fleet, 142 ; troops of, oc- 
cupy the left of the position at 
Ticonderoga, 175 ; promotion of of- 
ficers of troops of, 180 ; artillery of, 
36, 111, 137 ; troops of, form part 
of the permanent garrison of Ticon- 
deroga, 188 ; First Regiment of, 
march for their homes, 188 ; ar- 
rangement of field officers of twelve 
regiments of, 204, 206. 

Philadelphia, gondola, joins the 
American fleet at Isle la Motte, 148 ; 
is hulled in many places, 1 66. 

Philadelphia, arrival of the courier 
from Lexington and Concord at, 1 ; 
8000 people assemble at the State 
House, 2 ; organization of associa- 
tors, 2 ; materials of war confiscated 
at, 4 ; guard mounting at the State 
House and along the wharves, 1 2 ; 
arrival of Martha Washington at, 
13 ; life there in the winter of 1775- 
6, 15 ; ship carpenters from, sent to 
Skenesborough, 112. 

Phillips, General William, in 



command of British artillery, 85, 
86 ; commands column that marches 
for St. Johns, 87 ; at Chamblee, 
144 ; at St. John-i, 158 ; biographi- 
calsketch of, 158 ; advocates attack 
upon Ticonderoga, 191. 

Phinney, Colonel Edmund, regi- 
ment of, marches from Boston to 
Ticonderoga, 136 ; regiment of, 
marches home, 191. 

Pluckamin, First Pennsylvania 
Regiment marches to, 189. 

Point au Fer, retreating Americans 
march to, 96 ; Generals Burgoyne 
and Eraser embark from, on Lake 
Champlain, 159. 

Point Levi, erection of battery on, 
31 ; retreat of Americans from, 
44. 

PoMEROY, Seth, appointed brigadier- 
general, 5. 

Poor, Enoch, regiment of, sent to 
Canada, 37 ; regiment of, at St. 
Johns, 80 ; regiment of, retreats 
from Canada, 111 ; biographical 
sketch of. Ill ; president of court- 
martial at Ticonderoga, 126; regi- 
ment of, ordered from Mount In- 
dependence to Ticonderoga, 185 ; 
regiment of, leaves Ticonderoga, 
190; joins Washington's army 
above Trenton Falls, 190. 

Porter, Colonel, member of council 
of war at Quebec, 42. 

Porter, Elisha, Colonel of a Mas- 
sachusetts regiment furnished, at 
the call of Washington, to reinforce 
the army in Canada, 20 ; his march 
for Canada, 36 ; regiment of, at 
Chamblee, 81 ; regiment of, retreats 
from Canada, 111 ; regiment of, 
leaves Ticonderoga, 190 ; at Mor- 
ristown, 190. 

Portrait, of General Schuyler, 
frontispiece; of General Wooster, 
28; of General Thomas, 52; of 
General Sullivan, 88 ; of General 
Carleton, 112; of General Gates, 
140; of General Arnold, 168; of 
General Burgoyne, 194. 

Post Riders from Watertown, Mass., 
and Lebanon, Conn., to Ticonde- 
roga, 116 ; employed by Congress, 
117. 

Postal Service established by Con- 
gress, 117. 

Potts, Dr. Jonathan, Secretary of 



226 



INDEX. 



Committee of Safety of Berks 
County, Pa., 3; accompanies Gene- 
ral Gates to Canada, 99 ; in charge 
of hospital at Fort George, 105 ; in 
charge of hospital on Mount Inde- 
pendence, 177. 

PowDEB Mills in Pennsylvania, 125. 

PowEL, General, appointed Briga- 
dier-General by Sir Guy Carleton, 
102. 

Powell, MosES,killed by savages,145. 

Pr^torixjs, Lieutenant-Colonel of 
Hessian troops, 84. 

Pbemier, Captain, commands schoo- 
ner Liberty, 142. 

Pbince Fbedebick, Hessian regi- 
ment, 84. 

Pbingle, Captain Thomas, com- 
mands British fleet, 163, 165. 

Pbisonebs, barbarous treatment of, 
taken at the Cedars, 59. 

Pbovidence, gondola, forms part of 
the American fleet on Lake Cham- 
plain, 142. 

Provisions on board the fleet, 148; 
apprehensions that Ticonderoga was 
not sufficiently well stored with, 179. 

Putnam, Isbael, leaves his plow in 
the field and hastens to camp, 1 ; 
appointed Major-General, 5. 

Putnam's Point, British van-bri- 
gade under General Eraser advances 
to, 181 ; British advance post main- 
tained at, 186; detachment of Sixth 
Pennsylvania, under Major Dun- 
lop, sent to " beat up " British post 
at, 187. 

QuAREL, James, wounded ^j sav- 
ages, 146. 

Quebec, number of troops before, 18 ; 
Arnold in command at, 18 ; arrival 
of Pennsylvania troops at, 29; con- 
dition of the American army be- 
fore, 29; small-pox among the 
troops at, 29 ; suburbs of St. Roque 
and St. Johns burned by the Ameri- 
cantroopsat, 30 ; relief of, attempted 
by M. Beanjeu, 31 ; his party de- 
feated and dispersed, 31 ; arrival of 
General Thomas at, 40 ; condition 
of aflairs at, 40 ; fire-ship at, 40 ; 
council of war held at, 42 ; retreat 
from, determined upon, 42 ; arrival 
of the Surprise, Martin, and Isis at, 
43 ; sortie from, 43 ; retreat of the 
American army from, 44. 



Bay, Major, member of council of 
war, at Deschambault, 47. 

Eead, Colonel Jonathan, Massa- 
chusetts regiment of militia under, 
arrives at Ticonderoga, 134 ; regi- 
ment of, marches home, 191. 

Eeconnoitering, parties sent out by 
the Americans, 100, 101, 107. 

Redoubts, on Mount Independence, 
114, 184 ; about the French lines, 
137, 184; Jersey, 137, 175, 184, 
185 ; old French, 135; Arnold as- 
signed to command of, 174 ; Gen- 
eral Brickett'a brigade repairs old 
French, 177. 

Reed, Captain, commands gondola 
New York, 142. 

Reed, James, regiment of, sent to 
Canada, 39 ; regiment of, at Mon- 
treal, 80 ; regiment of, retreats from 
Canada, 111 ; commands brigade 
on Mount Independence, 111 ; sick- 
ness of 115; appointed brigadier- 
General, 138 ; biographical sketch 
of, 138; regiment of, ordered from 
Mount Independence to Ticonde- 
roga, 185; regiment of, leaves Ti- 
conderoga, 190 ; joins Washing- 
ton's camp above Trenton Falls, 190. 

Reinforcements, for the American 
army in Canada, 18, 20, 35, 37, 39 ; 
for the British army in Canada, 43, 
84, 86, 156. 

Retreat of the American army, 
from Quebec, 44; from Descham- 
bault, 48 ; from Three Rivers, 49 ; 
from Sorel, 82; from Chamblee, 88 ; 
from St. Johns, 89 ; from Isle aux 
Noix, 96 ; from Isl« la Motte, 96 ; 
General Gates learns of the retreat, 
99 ; effect of, upon the settlers of 
Northern New York and New 
Hampshire grants, 128 ; of British 
army to Canada, 187, 188 ; of Brit- 
ish army occasions great dissatis- 
faction in England, 194. 
Revenge, schooner, 150, 170 ; forms 
part of the American fleet on Lake 
Champlain, 142 ; ordered down the 
lake, 143 ; brought to by shot from 
the Royal Savage, 143. 
Rhode Island, ship carpenters from, 

sent to Ticonderoga, 113. 
Rice, Captain, commands gondola 
Philadelphia, 148. 

ElEDESEL, FbIEDRICH AdOLPH VON, 

Major-General in command of 



INDEX. 



227 



Brunswick troops, 84, 87 ; inter- 
change of liospitalities between 
British officers and, 85 ; German 
troops under, at La Prairie, 145 ; 
at St. Johns, 158 ; visits Crown 
Point, 181. 

EiEDESEL, Brunswick Regiment, 74, 
84, 158. 

Riflemen, companies of, raised in 
Pennsylvania, 5 ; company of John 
Nelson attached to First Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment, 36; company of, 
sent from New York to Canada, 38. 

RippEY, Captain William, atlacked 
by Indians at Isle aux Noix, 95. 

Road, built by Province of New York 
in 1709, 100 ; built by Major Skene, 
130; from Number Four to Skenes- 
borough, repaired by General Gates, 
130; new road opened from Mount 
Independence to Rutland, 130. 

Robinson, Captain Thomas, com- 
pany of, sent to Canada, 39. 

Robinson, Colonel, New England 
regiment of militia under, reaches 
Ticonderoga, 179. 

Romans, Bernard, commands com- 
pany of Pennsylvania artillery, 36 ; 
reaches the lakes, 36 ; company of, 
retreats from Canada, 111; en- 
camps within the French lines, 137. 

Royal Greens, 146. 

Royal Highland Emigrants, 43, 
86 ; reported to be on the march to 
the Mohawk river, 146 ; garrison 
Montreal, 158. 

Royal Savage, schooner, forms part 
of the American fleet on Lake 
Cham plain, 142; shot from, opposes 
the execution of Arnold's orders to 
the Revenge and Liberty, 143 ; 
General Arnold establishes his 
quarters on, 143 ; Arnold shifts his 
quarters from, to row-galley Con- 
gress, 150 ; engages in action with 
the British fleet, 164 ; stranded and 
burned, 165. 

Rum, issued to troops at Ticonderoga, 
115, 176 ; issued to soldiers on 
board the fleet, 148. 

Rutland, new road built from Mount 
Independence to, 130 ; bridge built 
over Otter creek at, 131. 

Sandusky, 9. 

Sargent, Michael, killed by sav- 
ages, 145. 



Saw-Mills in the vicinity of Ticon- 
deroga, 112. 

ScHANK. Lieutenant, commands Brit- 
ish ship Inflexible, 162. 

Schuyler, General Philip, portrait 
of, frontispiece ; appointed major- 
general, 5 ; ordered to occupy Can- 
ada, 16 ; is prevented from doing 
so by illness, 17 ; urges the sending 
of reinforcements into Canada, 
17 ; Congress responds to his de- 
mand, 18 ; calls upon Washington 
for further reinforcements for Can- 
ada, 19 ; Washington's reply there- 
to, 19 ; troons report to, at Albany, 
22 ; punishes mutineers, 24 ; man- 
sion of, 25 ; letter from, to Washing- 
ton on alarming state of aflairs in 
Canada, 37 ; Washington sends let- 
ter of, to Congress, 38 ; advised by 
commissioners of Cons^ress not to 
forward Sullivan's brigade, 48 ; 
builds boats for, 50 ; commissioners 
write to, for provisions, 51 ; Con- 
gress sends hard money to, 71 ; 
opinion of, as to enlistment of In- 
dians, 72 ; makes treaty with In- 
dians at German Flats, 72 ; letter 
from Washington to, on battle of 
Three Rivers, 78 ; sends boats to 
the relief of the retreating army, 
96 ; General Gates disputes com- 
mand of, 99 ; goes to Crown Point, 
100 ; holds council of war at Crown 
Point, 102 ; remonstrance against 
evacuation of Crown Point ad- 
dressed to, 103 ; letter from Wash- 
ington to, on evacuation of Crown 
Point, 103 ; letter from Sullivan to, 
complaining of the appointment of 
Gates, 104; Sullivan expresses his 
satisfaction at the conduct of his 
troops, through, 104 ; returns to 
Ticonderoga, 106; saw-mill built 
by, on Wood creek, 112 ; sends car- 
penters to Ticonderoga, 112; re- 
quests Governor Trumbull to send 
ship carpenters to Skenesborough, 
113 ; sends felJing-axts to Ticonde- 
roga, 113; comments on order of 
Sir Guy Carleton, 120 ; calls Wash- 
ington's attention to sectional ani- 
mosity existing among the troops, 
123; commands soldiers infected 
with small-pox to be removed to a 
distance from the roads, 133 ; false 
alarm of action between the fleets 



228 



INDEX. 



reaches, 146 ; calls for New York 
and New England militia, 146 ; 
makes a further appeal for militia 
to Albany county, 147 ; holds all 
militia at Albany, 147 ; sends parts 
of Wjnkoop's, Van Schaick's, Van 
Dyke's, and Mott's regiments to the 
Mohawk, and keeps Nicholson's 
and Elmore's regiments there, 147 ; 
countermands order for militia, and 
sends those from Albany home, 
147 ; money sent to, by Congress, 
154; anxiety about expiring enlist- 
ments, 155 ; Arnold sends his pa- 
pers and money to, 174 ; sentiments 
respecting the militia, 180; orders 
troops from Ticonderoga to join 
Washington's army, 188. 

Scott, Lieutenant, commands British 
radeau Thunderer, 162. 

Scott, Major, testimony of, rejected 
at court-martial of Colonel Hazen, 
126. 

Scouting Parties sent out from 
Crown Point, 100, 101, 107; from 
Ticonderoga, 109, 177 ; British cap- 
ture American, at Ticonderoga, 182. 

Seaman, Captain, commands schooner 
Kevenge, 142. 

Second New Jersey Regiment 
ordered to Canada, 18 ; part of, 
reaches the lakes, 36 ; posted at 
Jacques Cartier, 49 ; left to guard 
the sick at Three Rivers, 49 ; aban- 
dons Three Rivers, 50 ; is sent back 
from Sorel against Three Rivers, 
66 ; takes part in the battle of Three 
Rivers, 73; at Sorel, 80; retreats 
from Canada, 110; enlistment of, 
expires, 155 ; resolves to remain, 
155 ; transferred to Pennsylvania 
brigade, 176; march for their 
homes, 188. 

Second Pennsylvania Regiment, 
organization of, for Continental 
Army, 5 ; ordered to Canada, and 
reaches the lakes, 36; arrives at 
Sorel, 50 ; at Three Rivers, 66, 73; 
arrives at Ticonderoga, 106; forms 
part of permanent garrison of Ti- 
conderoga, 188; officers of, 201. 

Sectional Animosity between the 
troops at Ticonderoga, 122. 

Sedgwick, Major, member of council 
of war at Deschanibault, 47. 

Shee, John, appointed Colonel of the 
Third Pennsylvania Regiment, 5 ; 



regiment of, sent to New York, 
39. 

Sheep not killed until they were 
sheared, 4. 

Sherburne, Henry, volunteers to 
command reinforcements for the 
Cedars, 55 ; ascends Lake St. Louis, 
56, 58; party under, defeated by 
the British near the Cedars, 58; 
surrender of, and barbarous treat- 
ment of his men by the enemy, 59 ; 
exchange of, 64. 

Ship Carpenters sent to Skenes- 
borough, 112; prostration of, 151. 

Shoemaker, John, wounded by 
savages, 146. 

Short Enlistments, 5, 155. 

Shreve, Lieutenant-Colonel, mem- 
ber of council of war at Quebec, 
42 ; at Deschanibault, 47. 

Sick at Quebec, 29 ; mercifully cared 
for by General Carleton, 45; at 
Deschambault, 48; left at Three 
Rivers, 49 ; sent to the hospital at 
Montreal, 50 ; sent to Chamblee and 
St. Johns, 67 ; at St. Johns, 81 ; 
removal of, to Isle aux Noix, 88 ; 
at Isle aux Noix, 92 ; removal of, 
to Crown Point, 94 ; removal of, to 
Fort George, 105; condition of, at 
Fort George, 106 ; at Mount Inde- 
pendence, 115. 

Sickness at Ticonderoga and Mount 
Independence, 114, 115, 133, 134; 
of ship carpenters at Skenes- 
borough, 151. 

SiLSBY, Surgeon, 177. 

SiMONDS, Captain, commands gon- 
dola Providence, 142. 

Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment 
raised for Contineiital Army, 6; 
sent to Canada, 39 ; at Three Rivers, 
73; troops of, massacred at Isle aux 
Noix, 95 ; party of, sent to recon- 
noitre the enemy, 100; stationed at 
Crown Point as the outpost of the 
army, 107; false alarm occasioned 
by party of, 143; retreat of, to Ti- 
conderoga, 160, 171; Major Grier 
appointed major of, 180; detach- 
ment of, under Major Dunlop, sent 
to "beat up" British post at Put- 
nam's Point, 187; forms part of the 
permanent garrison of Ticonderoga, 
188; officers of, 203. 

Sixty-second British Regiment, 74, 
86, 144, 158, 159. 



INDEX. 



229 



Skene, Major Philip, Skenesbor- 
oiigh named after, 4; arrives at 
Philadelphia with materials of war, 
4; Congress appoints a committee 
to examine his pajDers, 4; is re- 
leased upon his parole, 4; road built 
by, 130. 

Skenesborough, named after Major 
Philip Skene, 4; population of, 
100 ; Generals Gates and Schuyler 
arrive at, 100; first company of re- 
inforcements of militia arrives at, 
130; low country about overflows, 
130; construction of fleet at, 141; 
garrison at, 141 ; Connecticut troops 
return to their homes by way of, 191. 

Sleds, provided to transport First 
Pennsylvania Regiment to Albany, 
22; up the Hudson, 25. 

Small-pos, appears among the troops 
before _ Quebec, 29 ; Connecticut 
troops inoculate themselves with, at 
Deschambault, 48; sick with, at 
Three Rivers, 49; at Montreal, 50; 
at Chamblee and St. Johns, 67 ; at 
St. Johns, 81; at Isle aux Noix, 
88,92; at Crown Point, 94; at Fort 
George, 105; dread of, retards en- 
listments, 129 ; troops infected with, 
ordered to be sent to hospital at 
Fort George, 132; oath required to 
be taken by soldiers infected with, 
132; General Schuyler commands 
all soldiers infected with, to be re- 
moved to a distance from the roads, 
133; disappearance of, 133. 

Smith's Battery erected on Charles 
river, 31. 

Soap provided in abundance at Ti- 
conderoga, 140. 

SoREL, arrival of the retreating 
American army at, 50; Generals 
Arnold and Thompson and Colonel 
St. Clair arrive at, 50; condition 
of troops at, 51 ; command at, de- 
volves upon General Thompson, 
53; commissioners of Congress 
learn of the disaster at the Cedars 
at, 60; General Thompson sends 
sick and heavy baggage from, 67 ; 
General Sullivan arrives at, 69; 
force at, after the battle of Three 
Rivers, 80; fortification of, 82; de- 
sertions from, 82; council of war 
held at, 82 ; retreat from, 82 ; Brit- 
ish fleet arrives off, 86; British 
vessels constructed at, 161. 



SoREL RIVER, First Pennsylvania 
Regiment descends, 27 ; retreating 
American army retreats up, 83; 
party under Captain Wilson de- 
scends and is captured in, 101 ; 
Lieutenant Whitcomb goes on scout 
duty down, 101 ; British army 
moves up, 157 ; British troops go 
into winter quarters along, 187. 

Specht, Lieutenant-Colonel of Hes- 
sian troops, 84 ; German troops 
under, at St. Johns, 144. 

Spencer, Joseph, appointed Briga- 
dier-General, 5. 

Spitfire, gondola, forms part of the 
American fleet on Lake Champlain, 
142. 

Spithead, British reinforcements 
sail from, 85. 

St. Amand, bay, American fleet ar- 
rive? at, 149. 

St. Clair, Arthur, appointed Col- 
onel of tlie Second Pennsylvania 
Regiment, 5 ; ordered to Canada 
and reaches the lakes, 36 ; is sent 
against Three Rivers, 66 ; takes 
part in the battle of Three Rivers, 
73 ; regiment of, at Sorel, 80 ; regi- 
ment of, retreats from Canada, 110 ; 
commands Pennsylvania brigade at 
Ticonderoga, 112; Declaration of 
Independence read at Ticonderoga 
by, 118 ; appointed Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, 138 ; leaves Ticonderoga, 188. 

St. Johns, First Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment arrives at, 27; desertions from, 
82 ; retreating American army 
reaches, 89; council of war held 
at, 89 ; barracks and fortifications 
at, burned, and retreat continued, 
89 ; British army arrives at, 90 ; 
British and German troops at, 144, 
158 ; British vessels constructed at, 
161, 162; British fleet returns to, 
187. 

St. Lawrence river, full of floating 
ice, 28 ; Surprise and Martin as- 
cend, 45 ; British army ascends, 86 ; 
General Carleton descends, in a 
canoe, 119. 

St. Louis, lake. Major Sherburne as- 
cends, 56, 58. 

St. Peter, lake, St. Clair's detach- 
ment _ crosses, 67 ; companies of 
Captains Jones and Davis cross, 70 ; 
troops under General Thompson 
cross, 72; British army ascends, 86. 



230 



INDEX. 



St. Theresa, British troops at, 158 ; 
rapids of, 162. 

Stagey, Major William, 133. 

Stade, Hessian and Brunswick troops 
sail from, 84. 

Stanley, George, wounded by sav- 
ages, 146. 

Stanton, Colonel, independent com- 
pany of, retreats from Canada, 111. 

Stark, John, hastens to camp in 
his shirt-sleeves, 2 ; regiment of, 
sent to Canada, 39 ; regiment of, 
retreats from Canada, 110 ; com- 
mands brigade on Mount Indepen- 
dence, 111 ; regiment of, leaves 
Ticonderoga, 190 ; joins Washing- 
ton's army above Trenton Falls, 
190. 

Starke, Lieutenant, commands Brit- 
ish scliooner Maria, 162. 

State House, Philadelphia, guard 
mounted at, 12: military stores at, 
12; ' 

Stevens, Ebenezer, in command of 
companies of Knox's artillery sent 
to Canada, 36 ; biographical sketch 
of, 36 ; arrives at Three Rivers, 49; 
is sent again to Three Elvers, 71 ; 
company of, retreats from Canada, 
111 ; companies under, encamped 
within the French lines, 137 ; in 
command of all artillery at Ticon- 
deroga, 137. 

Stevens, Captain John, sent to Que- 
bec as hostage for the prisoners 
taken at the Cedars, 64. 

Stewart, Surgeon, 177. 

Stockton, Richard, member of 
committee of Congress to visit the 
Northern army, 106 ; comments on 
condition of the sick at Fort 
George, 106 ; comments on distress- 
ing condition of the troops at Ti- 
conderoga, 182. 

Stodd's Tavern, First Pennsylvania 
Regiment lodges at, 27. 

Stody, Jonathan, wounded by sav- 
ages, 146. 

Strangway, Captain, 74. 

SuGAR-LoAF Hill, recommended as 
a military position, 102. 

Sullivan, Captain Ebenezer, sent 
to Quebec as hostage for the prison- 
ers taken at the Cedars, 64. 

Sullivan, John, appointed Briga- 
dier-General, 5 ; in command of a 
brigade of reinforcements for the 



army in Canada, 39 ; arrives at 
Chamblee, 68 ; command of the 
army devolves upon, 68 ; arrives at 
Sorel, 69 ; sends General Thomp- 
son with 1000 men against Three 
Rivers, 70; force under, at Sorel 
after the battle of Three Rivers, 
80 ; portrait of, 88 ; army under, re- 
treats from Sorel, 82 ; from Cham- 
blee, 83 ; from St. Johns, 89 ; con- 
dition of army under, at Isle aux 
Noix, 92 ; retreats from Isle aux 
Noix, 96 ; Isle la Motte, 96 ; to 
Crown Point, 96 ; takes offense at 
the appointment of General Gates, 
104 ; resigns his commission, 104 ; 
expresses his satisfaction at the con- 
duct of his troops in the trials and 
sufferings of the retreat, 104; offi- 
cers express their regard for, 105 ; 
withdraws his resignation at the 
request of Congress, 105 ; in com- 
mand of Lee's division at New Ger- 
mantown, 190; joins Washington's 
army above Trenton Falls, 190. 

Sumner, Captain, commands gondola 
Boston, 142. 

Surprise, ship, arrives at Quebec, 
43 ; sails up tlie St. Lawrence, 45. 

Swallow, packet, dispatch from 
Lord George Germain for General 
Carleton sent in, 192. 

Swart, Derrick, Deputy Commis- 
sary-General at Three Rivers, 28. 

Swift, Colonel Heman, regiment of 
Connecticut militia under, arrives 
at Ticonderoga, 134 ; regiment of, 
leaves Ticonderoga, 190. 

Taylor's British regiment, 86. 

Tay'lor, Captain James, arrives with 
his company at Ticonderoga, 107. 

Taylor, surgeon, 177. 

Ten Broeck, General Petrus, or- 
dered to march militia imder his 
command, 178. 

Thacher, Dr. .James, 177 ; surgeon 
of Whitcomb's regiment, 122 ; com- 
ments on sectional animosity be- 
tween troops at Ticonderoga, 122. 

Thatcher, Captain, commands row- 
galley Washington, 150. 

Third New Jersey Regiment, or- 
dered to Canada, 39; at Fort 
Schuyler, 146 ; marches to Ticonde- 
roga, ] 78 ; form^ part of the perma- 
nent garrison of Ticonderoga, 188. 



INDEX. 



231 



Thikd Pennsylvania Eegiment, 
organization of, for the Continental 
army, 6 ; sent to New York, 39. 

Thirty-first British regiment, 75, 
86, 158. 

Thirty-fourth British regiment, 
75, 86, 158. 

Thomas, John, appointed Brigadier- 
General, 5; appointed Major-Gen- 
eral, 35 ; assigned to the com- 
mand of the army in Canada, 35 ; 
biographical sketch of, 35 ; arrival 
of, at Quebec, 40; retreating army 
under, reaches Deschambault, 47 ; 
reaches Three Rivers, 49 ; reaches 
Sorel, 50 ; death of, 52 ; portrait of, 
52. 

Thompson, General Wilmam, com- 
mands a brigade of reinforcements 
for Canada, 38 ; arrives at Sorel, 
50 ; left in command at that place, 
53 ; sends Colonels St. Clair and 
Maxwell with 700 men against 
Three Rivers, 66; biographical 
sketch of, 67 ; sends sick and heavy 
baggage to Chamblee and St. Johns, 
67 ; waits impatiently for return of 
First Pennsylvania Eegiment to 
Sorel, 68 ; assumes command of the 
forces sent against Three Rivers, at 
Nicolet, 70 ; taken prisoner at Three 
Rivers, 76. 

THREE-MiiiE Point, British Indians 
and Canadians land on, 185 ; troops 
cross the lake from, 185 ; return of 
troops to, 186. 

Three Rivers, arrival of retreating 
Americans at, 49 ; sick left at, 
49 ; troops sent against, 66, 70, 71 ; 
battle of, 73. 

Thunderer, British radeau, 162, 
163, 164. 

TicoNDEROGA, Captain Jonathan 
Jones' company reaches, 26 ; ar- 
rival of Generals Schuyler, Gates, 
and Arnold at, 100; Generals 
Schuyler and Gates return to, 106 ; 
First, Second, and Fourth Pennsyl- 
vania Regiments arrive at, 106; 
construction of fort at, 108; its 
strength, 108; scouting party sent 
out from, 109 ; last of the retreating 
American army arrives at, 110 ; 
army at, divided into four brigades, 
111; music at, 114; alarm posts 
established at, 114; sickness at, 
114; want of mail facilities at, 116; 



four Pennsylvania regiments com- 
prise more than half the effective 
force at, 121 ; Pennsylvania troops 
the flower of the army at, 121 ; 
Pennsylvania regiments brigaded 
together at, 121 ; sectional animos- 
ity between the troops at, 121 ; ord- 
nance at, 123; garrison at, in May, 
1775, 123; removal of ordnance 
from, 123; wheelwrights arrive at, 
125; ordnance stores at, 125; am- 
munition arrives at, 126 ; oath re- 
quired to be taken by soldiers 
infected with small-pox at, 132 ; 
disappearance of small-pox from, 
133 ; divine service ordered to be 
held in every brigade at, 139; ves- 
sels of the fleet receive their arma- 
ment at, 142; false alarm of action 
between the fleets reaches, 146 ; 
order issued to troops at, 146 ; fears 
for communication with, 146; en- 
listments of troops at, expire, 155 ; 
DeHaas', Maxwell's, and part of 
Wind's regiments resolve to re- 
main, 155; reception of news of 
naval battle at, 159, 160; order to 
troops at, 159 ; Arnold and the 
Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment ar- 
rive at, 160; remnant of the fleet 
arrives at, 160 ; attack on, expected, 
173, 176 ; order issued to troops at, 
173; gun-carriages constructed at, 
174; comments of Richard Stock- 
ton on condition of troops at, 1 82 ; 
advance of the British army upon, 
184; Colonel Trumbull comments 
on appearance of, 186 ; number of 
cannon mounted on works at, 186 ; 
British army retires from before, 
186 ; permanent garrison estab- 
lished at, 188; General Gates 
leaves, 190; departure of troops 
from, 190, 191; attack on, advo- 
cated by Generals Burgoyne and 
Phillips, 191. 

Trenton, British army arrives at, 
189. 

Trumbull, Colonel John, accompa- 
nies General Gates to Canada, 99 ; 
comments on condition of troops at 
Crown Point, 97; Adjutant-General, 
99 ; examines Mount Independ- 
ence, 100 ; joins the army at Crown 
Point, 102 ; recommends erection of 
works on Sugar-loaf Hill, 102 ; re- 
quested to put General Arnold in 



232 



INDEX. 



arrest, 127 ; comments on appear- 
ance of Ticonderoga, 186. 

Trumbull, Governor Jonathan, 
sends ship carpenters and axes to 
Ticonderoga, 113; denounces inoc- 
ulation by the troops, 133; sends 
supplies of clothing to Ticonderoga, 
152. 

Trumbull, row-galley, 170; joins 
the American fleet at Valcour 
island, 150; Colonel Wigglesworth 
takes command of, 151 ; engages in 
action with the British fleet, 164 ; 
leads in the retreat of the American 
fleet, 167 ; fire from, opened upon 
the British gunboats, 185. 

TwEXTiETH British regiment, 75, 
86, 157, 158, 159. 

Twenty-first British regiment, 86, 
158, 159. 

Twenty-second British regiment, 
145. 

Twenty-fourth British regiment, 
75, 86, 144, 157, 181. 

Twenty-ninth British regiment, 
43, 86, 87, 158, 163. 

Ulmer, Captain, commands gondola 
Spitfire, 142. 

Ulster County, New York, trans- 
ports First Pennsylvania Regiment 
to Albany on sleds, 22 ; militia of, 
called out, 146. 

Uniforms of the Pennsylvania regi- 
ments, 12. 

Valcour Island, Arnold takes 
soundings around, 149 ; American 
fleet anchors behind, 150. 

Van Dyke, Colonel Cornelius, 
regiment of, stationed at Fort 
George, 111 ; part of the regiment 
of, sent to the Mohawk, 147. 

Van Schaick, Colonel Goose, regi- 
ment of, stationed at Fort George, 
111 ; part of regiment of, sent to 
the Mohawk, 147. 

Vernon, Captain Frederick, ar- 
rives with his company at Ticonde- 
roga, 107. 

Virginia, assistance asked from, 13; 
three companies of the First Penn- 
sylvania Regiment ordered to, 14 ; 
order revoked, 18. 

Von Gall, Colonel, in command of 
Hesse-Hanau troops, 85, 86. 

Von Rhetz, Hessian regiment, 157. 



Wait, Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph, 
member of council of war at Quebec, 
42 ; commands Bedel's regiment, 58. 

War, council of, held at Quebec, 42 ; 
at Deschambault, 47 ; at Fort St. 
Ann, 63 ; at Sorel, 82 ; at St. Johns, 
89; at Crown Point, ]02. 

Ward, Artemas, appointed Major- 
General, 5 ; ordered by Washing- 
ton to send Continental regiments 
from Boston to Ticonderoga, 135, 

Warner, Captain, commands row- 
galley Trumbull, 150. 

Warner, Colonel Seth, aids in 
sending the yeomanry of the New 
Hampshire grants to Ticonderoga, 
178. 

Washington, row-galley, joins the 
American fleet at Valcour island, 
150 ; General Waterbnry takes 
command of, 151 ; engages in ac- 
tion with the British fleet, 164 ; 
suffers severely, 165 ; brings up the 
rear in the retreat of the fleet, 167 ; 
at Schuyler's Island, 167 ; surren- 
der of, i68 ; release of crew of, 171. 

Washington, George, appointed 
Commander-in-Chief of the army, 
5 ; active operations under, before 
Boston, 8 ; army under, closely 
besieging the British in Boston, 
16 ; discouraged by aflairs in 
Canada, 19 ; calls for reinforcements 
for the army in Canada, 20 ; course 
of, approved by Congress, 20 ; hopes 
for the cause in Canada revived, 
20 ; Northern army under com- 
mand of, 34 ; sends two companies of 
Colonel Knox's regiment of artil- 
lery to Canada, 36 ; arrives in New 
York, 37; sends Patterson's, Bond's, 
Greaton's, and Poor's regiments to 
Canada, 38 ; asks Congress whether 
he shall send further reinforce- 
ments, 38 ; sends Irvine's, Stark's, 
Wind's, Dayton's, Reed's, and part 
of Wayne's i-egiments to Canada, 
39 ; parts with these troops reluct- 
antly, 39 ; writes to Schuyler that 
Quebec must be reduced before the 
winter is over, 41 ; condemns con- 
duct of officers at the Cedars, 57 ; 
is misled by Sullivan's confident 
reports, 69 ; comments on the re- 
treat from Quebec, 72 ; comments 
on battle of Three Rivers, 78; re- 
conciled to evacuation of Canada, 



INDEX. 



233 



91 ; disapproves of the evacuation 
of Crown Point, 103 ; comments on 
General Carleton's order, 120 ; dis- 
courages sectional feeling among 
the troops, 123 ; sends Colonel 
Knox to Ticonderoga for ordnance, 
123 ; orders Continental regiments 
from Boston to Ticonderoga, 135 ; 
remarks on expiring enlistments at 
Ticonderoga, 155 ; concerned about 
the insufficient supplies at Ticonde- 
roga, 179 ; opinion of militia, 180 ; 
orders troops from Ticonderoga to 
join his army, 188 ; orders First 
Pennsylvania Eegiment to halt at 
Pluckamin, 189 ; army of, crosses 
the Delaware, 389 ; visits Ticonde- 
roga, 197. 

Washington, Maetha, arrival of, 
at Philadelphia, 13. 

Waterbuey, General David, ap- 
pointed second officer of the fleet, 
141 ; joins the American fleet with 
the row-galleys Congress and Wash- 
ington at Valcour island, 150 ; 
takes command of the Washington, 
151 ; commands right of the fleet, 
151 ; at Schuyler's island, 167 ; 
taken prisoner, 168 : release of, 
171. 

Wayne, Anthony, appointed Col- 
onel of the Fourth Pennsylvania 
Eegiment, 6 ; regiment of, sent to 
Canada, 39 ; takes part in the battle 
of Three Rivers, 73 ; regiment of, 
at Sorel, 80 ; sent to cover Arnold's 
retreat from Montreal, 89 ; sent in 
pursuit of savages from Isle aux 
Noix, 95 ; regimental order by, 97 ; 
regiment of, retreats from Canada, 
110 ; in comijaand of permanent 
garrison of Ticonderoga, 188. 

Welsh reservation at Radnor, vi. 

Wheelock, Colonel Moses, Massa- 
chusetts regiment of militia under, 
arrives at Ticonderoga, 134 ; regi- 
ment of, returns home, 191. 

Wheelweights arrive at Ticonde- 
roga, 125. 

Whitcomb, Colonel AsA, attack upon 
regiment of, at Ticonderoga, 122 ; 
regiment of, arrives at Ticonde- 
roga, 136 ; regiment of, forms part 
of the permanent garrison of Ticon- 
deroga, 188. 

Whitcomb, Lieutenant Benjamin, 
150 ; sent as a scout into Canada, 



101 ; kills General Gordon, 102 ; 
sent by General Arnold on scout 
duty, 145. 

Whittlesey, Captain Ezea, com- 
pany of Mohican Indians under, at 
Ticonderoga, 136. 

WiGGLESWOETH, Doctor, commcnts 
of, on sickness at Mount Independ- 
ence, 115. 

WiGGLESWOETH, Colonel Edwaed, 
Massachusetts regiment of militia 
under, arrives at Ticonderoga, 134 
appointed third officer of the fleet 
149 ; joins the fleet at Isle la Motte 
149 ; biographical sketch of, 149 : 
commands the row-galley Trumbull 
151 ; commands left of the fleet 
151 ; leads retreat of the fleet, 167 , 
sent by General Gates to ascertain 
the designs of the enemy, 188 
regiment of, marches home, 191. 

Wilkinson, Captain James, rein- 
forces Arnold at La Chine with his 
company, 60. 

WiLLAED, Colonel Aaeon, regiment 
of, marches from Boston to Ticonde- 
roga, 136 ; troops under, cut down 
trees across the Crown Point road, 
175 ; regiment of, marches for 
home, 191. 

WiLLET, Atjgtjstin, appointed Cap- 
tain of the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment, 5 ; sketch of, 8 ; move- 
ments of company of, 21 ; reaches 
the lakes with his company, 36. 

WiLLETT, Maeinus, in charge of 
prisoners for Albany, 27. 

Williams, Lieutenant-Colonel, mem- 
ber of council of war at Descham- 
bault, 47. 

Williams, William, appointed Cap- 
tain of the First Pennsylvania 
Regiment, 5 ; sketch of, 7 ; move- 
ments of company of, 21, 23. 

Wilson, Captain James A., captured 
by the British, 101. 

Wind, William, regiment of, sent 
to Canada, 39 ; sent to Three Rivers, 
71 ; regiment of, at Sorel, 80 ; regi- 
ment of, retreats from Canada, 110 ; 
returns home, 137 ; enlistment of 
regiment of, expires, 155 ; greater 
part refuse to remain, 155. 

Windmill Point, American fleet 
reaches, 144 ; batteries secretly 
erected by the British at, 148. 

Wingate, Colonel Joshua, regiment 



234 



INDEX. 



of New Hampshire militia under, 
arrives at Ticonderoga, 1 34 ; regi- 
ment of, leaves Ticonderoga, 190. 

Wing's tavern, First Pennsylvania 
Regiment lodge at, 25. 

Wood, Captain, artillery company of, 
retreats from Canada, 111. 

Wood, Joseph, in charge of boats at 
Three Elvers, 78 ; appointed Col- 
onel of the Second Pennsylvania 
Regiment, 138 ; controversy over 
promotion of, 138. 

WooDBRiDGE, Colonel EUGGLES, 
133 ; Massachusetts regiment of 
militia under, arrives at Ticonde- 
roga, 134 ; regiment of, returns 
home, 191. 

WoosTER, David, appointed Briga- 
dier-General, 5 ; portrait of, 28 ; 
leaves Montreal for Quebec, 31 ; 



member of council of war at 
Quebec, 42 ; at Deschambault, 47 ; 
is relieved and returns home, 68 ; 
death of, 68. 

Wyman, Colonel Isaac, regiment of 
New Hampshire militia under, ar- 
rives at Ticonderoga, 134 ; regi- 
ment of, leaves Ticonderoga, 190. 

Wynkoop, Colonel Cornelius, or- 
dered to send boats to retreating 
American army, 96 ; regiment of, 
stationed at Ticonderoga, 111 ; part 
of regiment of, sent to the Mohawk, 
147. 

Wynkoop, Captain Jacobus, com- 
mands schooner Eoyal Savage, 142 ; 
resists the authority of General 
Arnold, 143 ; is arrested and sent 
to Albany, 143. 



hi X 133 



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